The Legend of Spyro: Daybreak
by davidschleppe
Summary: Kiran finds himself bored, stuck doing monotonous work during the new era of peace. This changes when he is given a mission that throws him into a world he could have never dreamed of. Faced with ever growing challenges, his ideals are put to the test, threatening to shatter beneath him. How could he even begin to face this alone? It's time to rise and shine, like those before him.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Kiran sighed happily as he munched on a stick of pocky. Today had been a fairly nice day, despite the heat that permeated the village. The sand and dry air was something that he had grown used to at a young age, to the point that he could even enjoy the hottest days of the summer. Kiran had just finished his guard shift at the front gate of the village and had the rest of the evening to himself. Normally, he would see what his teammates were up to, but they were out of the village for the time being on their own missions. Getting out of his seat, he finished his snack and began to head back home.

_This is a good chance for me to work on that wind jutsu I've been struggling with. I just need to practice it a few more times and I'm sure I'll have it down. I wonder… I wonder if mom ever practiced with any wind ninjutsu? I bet she'd be able to help me if she-_

Kiran shook his head and sighed, attempting to shift his thoughts into a different direction.

_Let's not ruin a good day thinking about that. I'm sure I can figure this out on my own._

With a huff, Kiran focused chakra into his legs and jumped into the air, using the added strength in his legs to reach the rooftop of a small shop next to him. Then he began to jump from roof to roof, quickly heading to the southside of the village where his home was. Kiran tried to focus on the people below him, or the buildings around him, but eventually his thoughts shifted back to his mother.

_I__ know__she'd be able to help me. Dad always said she was excited to start teaching me when I started in the academy_. _I wonder if she'd still be proud of me knowing that I am progressing slowly like this? I want to get this wind blade figured out on my own, but maybe I should ask for some help. There's plenty of other wind users that could give me some pointers. If I can't figure it out soon I guess I'll think about it. Ninjutsu isn't my strength anyway, which is why we work in teams, to cover for each other's weaknesses._

Kiran briefly thought about his team, going over the different strengths they all had. Yvaine, the oldest member, was known for her various types of earth and fire ninjutsu. She was also trained in all kinds of weaponry, allowing her to be a fearsome fighter up close and at a distance. His other team member, Hoshin, was an excellent medical ninja. He also had a strong affinity for illusions as well. He usually acted in a support role, but was the natural leader of the group because of his strong tactical ability. Kiran was skilled in swordplay and hand to hand fighting, although he aimed to someday be skilled in ninjutsu like Yvaine.

Kiran had started his ninja career with Hoshin and Yvaine. When he graduated from the academy, he was placed on a team with both of them. At first, he didn't mesh well with Yvaine or Hoshin, but eventually he learned how to work with them. Although the missions assigned to them weren't usually dangerous, they were able to form strong bonds and proper teamwork.

They were some of his closest friends and he valued them dearly. It was only because of their synergy with each other that they were able to pass the chunnin exams a few years prior. Kiran realized now that their individual skill was lacking at the time, but because of their excellent display of coordination they had all passed. The celebration was one of his favorite memories, as they spent an entire day eating and discussing the events of the exam with their sensei.

Kiran took a moment to look at his flak vest, a standard piece given to every ninja that had become chunnin. Despite the pride that came with the vest, he honestly didn't prefer to wear it. The bulk and stiffness didn't suit him well, and it made it harder to work in the hot conditions in the Land of Wind. While outside of the village, he chose not wear the vest and instead wore forearm guards as his method of protection. He was only wearing the vest right now because it was customary to do so while working inside of the village. This is where he had found himself the past few weeks, as the peace that came after the Fourth Ninja War also caused a lower demand for missions or work that extended outside of the village. This meant he had been wearing the vest far more that he wanted.

_Hopefully something pops up that gets me out of here. It would be great to finally be able to take this vest off again and travel around the other nations. Mom used to say that her favorite part of the job was being able to see the different landscapes in Ninji._

As his house came into view, Kiran slowed his pace jumped down to the ground. His home was a small house near the outskirts of the village, without any interesting features, but it was all he needed. The exterior of his home was made out of sand and clay, which helped to keep the inside cool during the day and warm during the night. There was also a lone window on the front, right next to his front door and mailbox. Kiran checked for mail while digging around in his back left pocket and pulled out his keys before unlocking the front door. Finding no mail today, he stepped inside and loosened the straps on his boots, kicking them off onto the floor. He also undid the straps holding the weights that were on his arms and legs, placing them next to his boots. He then reached his hands up into the air and stretched, grinning to himself.

"Home sweet home! Nothing better than getting back after a boring day at work."

Taking a moment to enjoy the cooler air, Kiran stretched and took a deep breath before heading to his bedroom in the back of his house. He passed through his small kitchen and living room before opening the bedroom door on his right. Inside of his bedroom was a small table, a dresser with his clothes and equipment, a desk with pens and various papers scattered across it and his bed. There were a few articles of clothing scattered about, but it wasn't something that bothered him. Even though there wasn't much in his room, he liked how simple it was. Too much and he would feel suffocated with how little space there was in his house.

Kiran stepped over to his desk and opened a drawer, moving a few scrolls around before grabbing a scroll wrapped in a greenish blue ribbon that contained the jutsu he was working on. He also grabbed a small bundle of string and some scissors from the drawer before heading into his living room. There, Kiran sat down on his couch and cut a few pieces of string. Then he hung them down from his ceiling, using small hooks that he had fastened there a few weeks ago for this training. He then undid the ribbo and opened the scroll. He took a look at the jutsu he was working on, the "Wind Blade" technique.

_Okay, time to focus. All I need to do is concentrate on my chakra at a point in my hand and then push outwards. The more I push, the longer the blade. Too little elemental chakra and the string won't cut, it'll just blow away. Think about forming the shape of a thin blade, just like the diagram shows. Easy right?_

Kiran rolled his eyes at himself and looked over the instructions another time before channeling his chakra into his finger tips. Ninjutsu itself wasn't something he had issues with, but adding his wind element and a shape to it was difficult. Feeling the chakra form, he felt for the wind nature as well and focused on it. Gradually, he molded the chakra into the proper shape and applied the elemental nature to it. After a few minutes, a barely visible blade of wind rippled at his fingertips.

_Alright, now I just need to increase the flow slowly. Too fast and I'll be fixing another hole in my wall, too slow and I'll lose the shape again._

Staring intensely at his hand, Kiran gently increased the amount of chakra in his hand. Slowly, the blade of wind grew longer and reached out about a foot from his hand. Excited, he then reached his hand out and swung horizontally at the first piece of string, watching as his hand passed by the string. Disappointingly, the string barely moved as if blown by a gentle breeze.

"C'mon, are you serious? I had everything right that time! What the heck am I doing wrong?"

Determined and irritated, Kiran got back to work attempting to cut the strings that dangled in front of him. Over the course of the next few hours, he had managed to figure out that when he swung his hand, his concentration lapsed and the molded chakra would fall apart, causing the blade to lose its edge. To fix this, he spent most of his effort creating the blade in small increments, moving it around, and practicing the feeling of keeping the shape formed as he moved his hand. He slowly began to improve at the jutsu, being able to create a two foot blade and move it around gently without having it lose its edge.

Confident that he could actually cut a string now, he formed a small blade and once again swung his hand at the string. This time, the string was cut, and the piece floated onto the floor. Kiran grinned widely in excitement and attempted to cut down the rest of the strings, only having to refocus his chakra once before all the pieces had been cut.

"Yes! Finally, some progress! Take that you stupid piece of string!"

Kiran wiped his hand across his forehead and felt the sweat that covered it. He took a brief moment of reprieve and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. As he chugged the glass, he glanced outside his window and then at the clock above his fridge. He noticed that it was dark outside, and about 8:15 in the evening. Feeling that he had enough training for today, he decided to celebrate his success with a quick dinner and cold shower before bed.

Kiran flopped down onto his bed, feeling drained from his chakra usage but also satisfied from his small improvements. Through his own hard work, he was one step closer to being able to use a wind blade reliably. He rolled onto his side, and looked at a picture in a frame that sat on the small table by his bed. The picture showed him as a young child, along with his mom and dad. In it he was trying his best to look grumpy, but was failing miserably as both his parents were tickling him and causing him to laugh. This photo held a lot of bittersweet memories and it was the last picture his family had taken together before his mom had died.

_I __really hope you can see me now mom. I'm doing what I promised to do, despite Dad not being too happy when I graduated. I want to follow in your footsteps. I want to keep my family and village safe, no matter what. Even if that means I'm dying of boredom because I'm stuck sitting at a gate and stamping papers._

Kiran smiled but felt a heavy weight in his chest. Although he had been able to move on after his mother's death, it had always left a piece of his heart feeling empty. He had hoped by becoming a ninja that somehow that piece would be put back into place. So far it had seemed to only temporarily fill that hole. Deciding he needed to think about something else to fall asleep, Kiran thought about what he would be doing tomorrow.

_Still on guard duty I guess. That means I'm in for a super boring day. I'm stuck until Yvaine or Hoshin get back. Ugh, I really hope one of them finish their missions soon, I'll die of boredom if I'm sitting in a chair roasting for a few more days._

With a sigh, Kiran settled into his covers and closed his eyes.

_I__'ll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings._

Hey guys! This my first story and I just wanted to leave a quick note. This story will start out with an OC in the world of Naruto but quickly shift over to spyro's world. Because I'm using a single character from that world, I wasn't sure if it would count as a crossover or not. Feel free to leave a review if you liked the story! I'll be posting chapter 2 on December 26th, if not sooner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The loud ringing of an alarm woke Kiran from his sleep. He quickly turned over and pushed some chakra into a small seal on his wall before rolling back over and taking a deep breath. With a small frown, he sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes. He took a moment to look at his clock which read 5:00. He stared at it for a few seconds in silence.

_If_ _there was one thing I could change about this job, it would be how early I have to wake up. Maybe I should have listened to my dad after all. It's unnatural to be waking up before the sun has risen._

Pushing away those thoughts, Kiran got out of bed and started his morning routine. He threw on a pair of shorts and headed to his kitchen for a quick bowl of oatmeal. After making a small fire in his stove, he heated some water to a boil and made a warm breakfast. He sat down and started eating his food, thinking about the day ahead.

_Since today will be the same as yesterday, maybe I should bring something to do for once. Sodoku? Maybe a book? Oh, I could practice th-_

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Shoving another spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth, Kiran swallowed quickly and made his way over to the door while yelling.

"Coming! Just give me a sec!"

As he opened the door, he was somewhat surprised to see Yvaine standing there waiting for him.

Yvaine was a tall and well built woman, with long lavender hair that reached midway down her back. Aside from the standard flak vest, she wore long black pants and a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt. Her headband rested around her neck, along with a silver necklace. Around her waist she had an assortment of pouches that carried various weapons, tools and scrolls. She still had her backpack and was somewhat dirty, meaning she had probably just returned from her last mission. She grinned happily at Kiran and waved.

"Hey Kiran! Long time no see! I just came by to let you know that I'm back! That, and I also came to tell you that you've been assigned a new mission.

Kiran got over the fact that someone was bothering him so early and his eyes lit up. Yvaine had a mission which for him which meant that he would be off of guard duty! He leaned on the doorframe and put his hands in his pockets.

"A mission? Do you know what I'll be doing?"

Yvaine frowned and crossed her arms, giving Kiran an offended look.

"It's been a few weeks since we've seen each other and the first thing you ask me is about some dumb mission? I thought we were better friends than that, Kiran. I'm deeply hurt."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Kiran mustered up as much fake enthusiasm as he could.

"Oh hey Yvaine! Wow, it's been a while! How are you? How was your mission? Gosh, I hope you didn't miss me too much!"

Kiran crossed his arms and asked begrudgingly;

"There, happy?"

Yvaine gave him a sour look and glared, unfazed by the blatant sarcasm.

"I am doing great, thank you. My mission in the Land of Fire went well and I had a great time being away from this sand pit. And no, I didn't miss you at all. No need to flatter yourself, especially when you're so mean and grumpy. What's the matter? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

Kiran did his best not to roll his eyes and groan.

"I'm sorry Yvaine, its just been a super boring week. Sorry for being sarcastic, but you know that nothing happens when you're stuck with gate duty. I'm really excited to hear that I'm doing something else for once. And hey, it's actually good to see you again. I mean it. I don't have much to do after work when you and Hoshin are gone."

Yvaine gave Kiran a beaming smile and punched his arm gently.

"There's the Kiran I know! Sorry to hear you've been suffering here all by yourself. Tell you what, after you get back from your mission we can all go out for a drink! Maybe while you're gone I can get you set up with a date, which would help you with your little issue. Hoshin and I can't be taking care of you forever, especially with his promotion coming up soon.

Kiran nodded, although his heart fell a bit.

_Right, Hoshin is becoming a Jonin soon. When that happens he'll probably be gone more often or assigned a team of genin._

"I know Yvaine, but please don't set me up. You'd probably manage to find the craziest person in Sunagakure. I know you worry about me sometimes but I can take care of myself. Now, what was that you said about a mission?"

Yvaine absentmindedly twirled a bit of her hair with a finger and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Right, your mission. Well, Tobira wanted me to let you know that you need to meet him at the front gate at 6:00. He said to pack enough supplies to last about two weeks. You'll be heading out of the village for a while."

Absorbing the info, Kiran hesitated for a moment before replying.

"Two weeks huh? That's... a fairly long time. Do you know why they're sending me by myself? They haven't done that before."

Yvaine shook her head.

"I'm not sure why, but I do know that it's an escort mission. Shouldn't be too hard from what I understand."

She smiled again and gave him a thumbs up.

"I know you don't like being by yourself, but they wouldn't give you something dangerous! I have full confidence in you."

Reassured by her support, Kiran felt a bit more at ease.

"Thanks Yvaine. If you think I'll be fine then I shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Kiran held his fist out in front of him.

"I guess I should get ready, huh?"

Yvaine bumped Kiran's fist with hers.

"You betcha! Don't want to be late for your solo mission right?"

Yvaine gave him a quick hug. Kiran was caught off guard and was stuck as she hugged him tight for a few seconds. When she let him go, he took a moment to regain his breath.

"Are you trying to kill me? Jeez, warn me next time."

"Nah, I love seeing you squirm. Anyway, promise me you'll be careful and we'll catch up when you get back home. You can fill me in on how smoothly your mission went. Sound good?"

"Yeah yeah, I'll be careful."

"Great. I'll see you later Kiran. I need to get back home and sleep. I'm exhausted."

"Ok. See you in two weeks!"

Yvaine gave a quick salute and jumped away, disappearing into the village.

Kiran headed inside and closed his door. He went back to his kitchen and scarfed down the rest of his now cool bowl of oatmeal. After finishing, he cleaned his dishes and put them away. He walked to his bedroom and grabbed a camping backpack from his dresser. It had everything he would need for a trip, such as a sleeping bag, basic necessities, camping supplies, medical supplies and a knife. He had this pack prepared just in case he didn't have much time to prepare. It only took one mission without having a sleeping bag to make him swear to never be unprepared again. Setting down the pack, he then grabbed several pairs of clothes and folded them up into the pack, along with a pouch of kunai, shuriken, some explosive tags, wire, and the scroll he used last night.

Satisfied with his backpack, Kiran then got himself dressed for the day. Foregoing his flak vest, he put on a pair of comfortable and sturdy cargo shorts, a form fitting grey t-shirt, his wrist weights and forearm guards, ankle socks, his leg weights and shin guards, his headband and his boots. Instead of on his forehead, Kiran wrapped his headband around his right arm as he didn't like the feel of it on his forehead. Finally, he grabbed his tanto and fastened it behind his waist, making sure that it was in a good spot for him to grab easily and quickly.

_Okay, pretty sure that's everything. What time is it?_

Kiran glanced at the clock which read 5:35. He should be able to get to the gate with plenty of time. He grabbed his bag and set it by the front door and then went to the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth. While brushing, he took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. Short, messy brown hair and green eyes stared back at him. He was fairly tall, reaching just a bit above six feet, with tanned skin and a lean frame. He didn't stand out too much, but he didn't mind that. Most of his looks came from his father, but his eyes and skin came from his mother. Brushing a few more times, he finished up in the bathroom and grabbed his backpack from his room.

With all of his equipment ready, Kiran headed over to his front door. Checking one last time to ensure he wasn't forgetting anything, he went over a quick mental list. Not being able to think of anything, he grabbed his keys and left his house, locking the door behind him.

It was still dark outside, and the air was brisk. The stars and moon sparkled above, bathing the city with a dim light that allowing Kiran to see where he was stepping as he made his way to the gate. Although Kiran didn't enjoy waking up early, he enjoyed the quiet and still mornings that accompanied it. There was something special about going through Sunagakure without many others walking through the streets. Most of the people he did pass were other ninja, going about their various duties or heading home for the day.

As he neared the gate, Kiran could make out two figures standing and talking between each other. He recognized Tobira, a secretary of the village standing with a shorter figure that he couldn't recognize.

_That's probably the escort. Hopefully we're traveling out of the desert, it would be nice to experience some milder weather for a change._

Kiran gave a small wave and said "Yo!" as he got closer to them.

Both figures looked over at Kiran and Tobira gave a small nod.

"Ah, Kiran, good to see you. I apologize if the short notice caused you any issues. Did Yvaine fill you in on the details?"

"She gave me a rough idea but didn't go into detail. I assume I'll be escorting the fellow next to you?"

Tobira nodded and gestured to the man next to him.

"Correct, this is Tarko. He is an archaeologist that specializes in historical civilizations. Tarko and other archaeologists have recently been made aware of a previously unknown structure inside of the desert of solitude. They have requested an escort to ensure their safety as they begin their investigative process. This is a C rank mission and for now you can expect to be gone for two weeks. You'll be traveling alone with him to set up their camp before the other members of his group arrive. He can fill you in on any other questions that you may have."

Kiran looked over towards Tarko. He was a short but stout man with a thick beard and hair that was sandy blonde. He wore a wide brimmed hat, along with some goggles that rested on his neck. On his back he also had a pack with various gear, including some digging tools and a type of netting. He was also wearing boots, with long tan cargo pants and a short sleeved tan shirt.

Tarko reached his hand out to Kiran.

"Nice to meet ya."

Kiran shook his hand.

"Likewise, nice to meet you Tarko."

Tobira pulled out a scroll from his sleeve and handed it to Kiran.

"This has the information I shared with you about the mission. Make sure to fill out the information sheets that are in the scroll, there are some researchers here in Sunagakure that are interested in these findings as well."

Kiran nodded.

"Will do Tobira. Anything else?"

Tobira shook his head.

"No, that's all I have. I wish you luck on the mission. Please remember to be safe."

With that, Tobira began walking back into the village and left the two at the gate.

Tarko cleared his throat and smiled.

"I hope yer not ready for anything too exciting. We have a two day walk ahead of us and I don't imagine we'll be running into anything dangerous. If yer lucky though, we may run into something interesting at the site. There may be traps or some kind of natural obstacle that you can help us with."

Tarko clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"Now, if yer all ready, let's get going! We're burning daylight as it is. I want to get to our destination as fast as we can."

Kiran gave tarko a quick thumbs up.

"All good here, let's go."

* * *

It had been several hours since the pair had left Sunagakure. Tarko had begun to tell Kiran about his adventures from his time as an archaeologist. The stories Tarko recalled were fine at first, interesting even, but over time they were waning his patience. It wasn't that he didn't like the stories, but he had a feeling that Tarko was over exaggerating many of them. He was stuck listening though, as his own polite nature prevented him from saying anything. Kiran felt trapped in an unending barrage of tales. Even though it wasn't quite mid afternoon yet it had felt like many more hours had passed.

"-And ya will never guess what happened next! Gaius was on the ground with a nasty would but I just so happened to be behind it with me shovel! I knew in me bones that this was the only chance we had. I jumped with a battle cry and whacked the beasty square on the back of the head! My shovel was lodged in its head so I was sure that would do the trick. Color me shocked when it turned around and grabbed me-"

Kiran was doing his best to pay attention but Tarko didn't seem to notice that he was only feigning interest at this point. He nodded as Tarko continued to talk but ignored him, scanning the land around them for any kind of distraction. Unfortunately, the only thing he could see in any direction was sand and sunshine. Resigned to his fate, Kiran gave up and sighed, focusing back on the story Tarko was telling.

"And from there I had to carry Gauis all the way back to our camp. He was hurtin' badly, but I managed to carry him with me uninjured arm. When we got back, a lot of our buddies rushed over to help us, asking about what happened. I was able to let them know we had been attacked, and about the beasty that we had fought. Because of me efforts, Gauis and I ended up being alright and recovering after only a few weeks. Looking back now, I realize that it was pure luck that kept both of us alive. I count me blessins every day and thank whatever gods there are that I'm still here today."

Tarko chuckled heartily and grinned, surprising Kiran when he gave him a sudden nudge on the side with his elbow.

"That's enough about me. How about you lad? Any stories to share?"

Kiran pondered the question for a moment. He had a few from over the years, but wasn't in the mood to recall those memories. Many of the stories he could tell reminded him of the harsh reality that came with being a ninja. Death was a common occurrence and although it was a much safer time, there were things in his past that had left deep marks in his heart. He decided to try and move the conversation away from himself.

"Nothing that comes to mind. At least, nothing that rivals some of the stories you had. It's a much safer time now, you know? Ever since the war ended, the Nations have been at peace and are working together."

"Oh? Well, how long have you been a ninja? Were you serving during the war?"

Kiran grimaced, but hid his emotions behind a neutral face. The war was probably the worst topic they could discuss.

"I was just an academy student at that time, so I stayed in Suna while the more experienced ninja were fighting. They had us stay there to keep us safe, leaving behind the genin just in case something happened while the Chunin and Jonin were at the front. What were you doing at that time?"

Tarko stroked his beard.

"Mmm, I see. Just a youngin' at the time then. Well, believe it or not, I was not on this continent. I was off in another land doin' preliminary work for a series of interesting monuments that had been found. Not me favorite type of work, but it payed me well. I came back to Ninji after that, when the war had been over for a few years. How old were you then lad? Thirteen?"

Kiran shook his head.

"I'm still fairly young actually. I'm only 15 right now. I was 7 when the war occurred."

"Ah, just wee fella! Well, tis' a good thing you stayed home!

Tarko looked over Kiran for a moment, his eyes lingering on his headband.

"So what drove you to become a ninja Kiran? Did ya have family that were ninja as well?"

Kiran felt a small stab in his chest as his heart clenched. He looked down into the sand.

"...My mother was a jonin in Sunagakure, so I took after her. She died in the war though. From what I was told, she was a casualty when the Fourth Division was attacked my Uchiha Madara."

Tarko shook his head and sighed, placing his hand firmly on Kiran's shoulder.

"Ach, I'm sorry about your mother lad. Tis' a terrible thing to lose family at such a young age. If you'd like to talk about it, let me know. If not, I won't bother ye about it. Alright lad?"

Kiran gave a curt nod, but sighed quietly to himself. With the mood dampened and Tarko not wanting to cause any more grief, the conversation shifted towards a different subject. Tarko began to describe different places he had visited in the past, which Kiran was thankful for. Hearing about lands with unending forests, fog thick enough to feel and enormous mountains that loomed over you was captivating. Tarko was surprisingly well spoken when it came to describing natural fauna or architecture. Kiran's thoughts drifted to Yvaine, who was able to take a mission to the Land of Fire. Although the summers were hot, the rest of the year was very moderate. Seasons such as Fall and Winter were popular times for others to visit. In the Land of Wind, the only type of weather that existed was relentlessly hot or freezing cold. Kiran was envious of the other climates and promised himself that he would make sure to travel when he was older. His mom used to tell him stories of the places she used to visit, much like Tarko was now.

"So lad, have you ever been to any other nations? I'd imagine ye would get tired of the sand and sun."

"No, I haven't. I'd like to travel someday but I don't have the time right now. Besides, I'm used to the heat."

Tarko nodded and wiped the sweat away from his brow. The hot sun was now high in the afternoon sky, beaming down on them without any remorse. Deciding this was a good time to take a break, Tarko set up a small umbrella to help them cool of in the shade. They both drank water from their canteens and waited for the hottest part of the day to pass, before packing up the umbrella and continuing their trek.

The rest of the their afternoon went on uneventfully, as the two only stopped a few more times to rest and hydrate. As the sun began to drift under the horizon, Tarko suggested they continue for a bit longer before they make camp for the night. Kiran agreed and after the sun had fully disappeared, they settled down next to a sand dune, finding just a bit of protection from the wind that started to pick up. They both began to prepare for the night, each with a different task. Tarko managed to find a few pieces of wood and set up a campfire while Kiran grabbed a small seal from his pack. Sitting down in the center of camp, Kiran laid it on the ground and activated it with his chakra. Satisfied, Kiran sat down next to Tarko and watched as he attempted to start a flame.

Tarko stopped what he was doing and looked over at the paper seal on the ground.

"What was that ye did, if ye don't mind me asking?"

"Well, I set up a seal that will send me a tiny pulse of chakra if anything gets too close to our camp. It's enough of a disturbance to wake me up if I'm sleeping or to alert me when I'm awake. It's a way to make sure we're not taken by surprise should anything wander our way. Just a precaution."

"I see. I haven't seen anything like that before. Did ye design that yerself lad?

Kiran shook his head.

"That particular seal was something I bought from a vendor in Sunagakure. Creating seals isn't something I'm very good at but I can use them just fine. Another type of seal I use is called a paper bomb. It uses a specific type of seal that stores energy inside of it. When the energy is released, it acts as an explosion and can create a distraction or cause an injury. It just depends on how much is stored in the seal.

Tarko rubbed a hand across his beard and struck a thoughtful pose.

"That seems to be a handy skill. Maybe I'll take some time to learn it meself, eh lad?"

"Well, fuinjustu is a very difficult art to learn and master. I think you would have to dedicate at least a few months to learn the basics. If you're willing to put in the time though, I don't see why not."

"Aye, I'll keep it on me mind then. How's about we eat something and get to sleep? I want to get an early start tomorrow morn'."

Kiran agreed and the two began to eat their respective meals. It had been a long day walking and the constant sun and sand had left both of them fairly tired. With some time to reflect, Kiran began to think over the conversation from earlier involving his mother. Doing so, however, only caused him to relive the feelings that came with her death. Not willing to break the silence, Kiran began to sink into a depressing spiral of his own thoughts.

With the cold now creeping in, they both huddled closer to the campfire enjoying the warmth. Without a word, Tarko pulled out a small flute from his pack. He licked his lips a few times before playing a slow but warm melody. The jovial tune and overall softness of the instrument helped to put Kiran at ease. He couldn't help but enjoy the song Tarko was playing and it made him think back to his younger days, before his mother had passed. Kiran thought back to one of his first festivals in Suna, remembering all the smells, sounds and feelings that came with the memory. He had been with his parents at the time, and remembered how amazing it was to see all the people gathered together to celebrate. Thinking about this happier time helped to alleviate the aching that had been in Kiran's chest earlier that day. With a small smile, Kiran got up, stretched, and grabbed another scroll from his pack.

"You wouldn't want to take a quick shower, would you? I have enough of these to last the trip and then some."

Tarko stopped playing for a moment and waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm fine. I have me own methods of bathing while traveling. Although I am curious to see how that scroll will help ya clean up."

Kiran shrugged his shoulders.

"It's pretty simple. I just add some chakra to the seal and it will empty out the water I have inside. The more chakra, the stronger the water pressure. As long as I do it correctly it acts like a super fast shower. I'll show you how it works."

Kiran stepped just outside of the light of the campfire and stripped down to his undergarments. Setting the scroll below him, he set his foot down on the scroll and clapped his hands together in front of him. Through his foot, he pushed some chakra into the scroll. A moment later, a deluge of water shot up from the ground, completely engulfing Kiran in water. As the water rushed over him, Kiran could only sputter and cough as the spray had managed to go up his nose and into his throat. Tarko, who had been watching, was trying his best not to fall over from laughing. Kiran took his foot off the scroll, stopping the water, and hit his chest a few times. He coughed, clearing out the water in his nose before breaking out into a smile, not being able to ignore how silly he looked.

Tarko composed himself and sat up, wiping away a tear.

"Well, that looked like it worked lad. I didn't realize ya liked to clean yer insides as well as yer outside. I think I'll stick to me method and let ya keep that to yerself, eh?"

Kiran smiled and shook his head, doing his best to look dignified.

"I think you're just jealous of how quick that was. But, truth to be told, I wasn't expecting that. I've never had one that had that much of a punch. I guess I made a mistake with my chakra input, but hey, at least I'm clean now."

After taking a few minutes to dry off properly and dress himself, Kiran settled down by the campfire. He watched as the fire danced in front of him, sending small embers and smoke into the sky. Tarko pardoned himself and disappeared for a few minutes, likely taking care of his bathing as well, before returning and putting his flute away. The moon began to shine brightly as the darkness of night fully settled in. Kiran yawned heavily and decided it was time to get some sleep. He grabbed his sleeping bag from his pack and laid it out at the edge of the fire. Close enough to help him stay warm, but far enough for the light not to bother him too much.

"Going to sleep then, eh? Just be ready to be up bright and early. I would like to make it to the site by mid afternoon tomorrow."

Kiran gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah, will do. Have a good night Tarko. If you need anything don't hesitate to wake me. Oh, and thanks for the song. It... helped set me at ease."

Tarko gave him a small wink.

"Anytime lad. Music is always good for the heart, or so they say. It's why I took up the flute in the first place. Now go on and get some sleep lad."

With that Tarko pulled out a small book, leaving Kiran to himself. Kiran looked up into the sky, taking a moment to admire the stars twinkling in the night sky before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Kiran woke up before the sun had risen. Although he wished for more sleep, his body had a set schedule and refused to let him fall asleep again. Using the time before Tarko was awake, Kiren took care of his morning routine and began a small exercise routine to help himself fully wake up. It was during his fifth jog around the camp that he noticed Tarko stirring.

"Morning Tarko. Sleep alright?"

Kiren was only met with some grumbling as Tarko sat up, cursing to himself as he fumbled around for his clothes. Seeing that Tarko wasn't in the best of moods, Kiran grabbed his alarm scroll and deactivated it, stuffing it back into his pack. He also put away his sleeping bag and put out the few embers that remained of the fire. He did a double check to make sure he had all of his equipment and put his arm guards and tanto on. He then sat quietly and munched on a breakfast bar, waiting as Tarko took got himself ready for the day. After about thirty minutes Tarko gave a signal that he was ready.

"Alright lad, let's head out. When we arrive we'll be setting up some tents to prepare for the rest of my group arriving. If we hurry we can spend less time in the sun this afternoon."

Kiran gave a quick thumbs up and the pair continued their trek towards the site, walking faster than they had the day before. It was still dark out, but it was only an hour before the sun started to peak over the horizon. Luckily for them, they were walking westward, preventing them from being blinded by the early morning rays. As the warmth started to chase away the chill of the night, Kiran asked Tarko about the site they would be exploring.

"So, Tarko, what will we need to do to prepare? I've never helped with anything like this before."

"Well, the first step will be setting up camp outside of the expected area of the site. The most important goal we have is to preserve and respect what already exists. It doesn't do ya any good to destroy what yer trying to research, now does it?"

Kiran nodded.

"That makes sense. What else?"

"The second step depends on what yer specific role is and what yer dealing with. This site in particular has an actual structure that we are exploring, so the second step will be surveying and mapping the area. After that it's just a matter of exploring what exists and beginning our discovery process. Pretty simple, but ya have to have an idea of what yer doin' so you don't accidentally destroy or damage anything. To be honest, I haven't been at a site with a structure to be explored in some time, so consider it a treat!"

"Do you know anything about the structure we're exploring? Why was it only discovered recently?"

"Well, this site didn't exist until now. It was only discovered because the wind shifted the sand dunes and uncovered the entrance. It was happenstance that a few of my fellows had traveled by while it was visible. Since then it's been a scramble to be the first to go and reveal its secrets. I don't actually know much about it me-self."

"Huh, so this may be something that's been hidden for some time. Do you have any theories as to what it is Tarko?"

"I have me suspicions, but I assume it's from a people that existed sometime before the founding of Sunagakure. According to Gaius, there were statues at the entrance that were in the shape of dragons. Not something I've seen too much of in the desert. That reminds me, we need to be careful of others that are out to explore the site. Never know who you may run into, eh? Thieves and treasure hunters tend to be drawn to things like this."

"Right. I'll keep an eye out. Sounds like we'll have a good time regardless."

Tarko smiled cheekily.

"Yer absolutely right! Nothing like a good ol' archaeological expedition to get the blood flowing!"

With that, the two continued discussing the possibilities that may lie ahead. They debated over what they could find in the site, with ideas ranging from treasure, monsters, and even old myths and legends. Despite the tall tales that Tarko had told the previous day, his knowledge and experience in his field was stunning. Their discussion made the day go by much faster and Kiran's excitement grew as they drew to their destination. By the time mid morning had arrived, he could barely contain his curiosity.

When the sun had peaked in the sky, Tarko pulled out some maps and instruments to give them precise directions to move in. They slowly inched their way forwards, sometimes having to retrace some distance as Tarko miscalculated their position or made a small error with his heading. Soon however, they drew close to an area that almost seemed to be carved out of the sand in a very distinct bowl shape. On the northern edge of the bowl, barely visible from where they stood, a dark and square shape with two statues on each side sat on top of the sand.

"There's the entrance lad. We need to set up camp and prepare for the rest of our group. Let's set up on the north western edge. That will give us some protection from the afternoon sun."

Without wasting any time, the two hurried around the edge of the bowl, heading to a spot that sat a solid half mile from the entrance. When they finally arrived, Tarko set down his bag and began pulling out a tightly wound package, placing it in on the ground. He gave it to Kiran and directed him on where to place it. Then, he had Kiran open the package and the unravel canvas inside. The canvas that they would be using as a tent for the campsite was extremely large, but had little weight to it. It took Kiran a few minutes to have it fully laid out, and he was surprised at how big it was. The canvas seemed to be spacious enough to comfortably contain at least a dozen people and supplies. Tarko then handed Kiran several long collapsible rods that they would use to support the canvas.

"Alright then, that was the easy part. Now is where you earn yer keep. We can start by setting up the main tent here. We'll be using a few longer rods to support the center, and the rest of the rods will be for the outer walls of the tent. You can start over there, and I'll start on the other side."

Kiran stretched his arms and nodded.

"Let's get to it."

* * *

Kiran sat down inside of the tent, covered in sweat. The past few hours had been a combination of lifting, moving and setting various poles with Tarko. The end result was worth it, however, as the now finished tent was protecting them from the hot sun that had been bearing down on them before. Once they had finished the tent, Tarko began to unpack all of his supplies, setting all of his gear up in a corner.

"I have to say lad, good work. We set up this blasted tent in record time. It usually took Gaius and I a few hours by ourselves. But, now that we're done, we'll be stuck waitin' for me fellows. How about if they haven't arrived tomorrow morning, we go and do some preliminary exploration, eh? I'm itching to start, and I don't want to sit around and wait just because others aren't as quick on their feet as we are."

Kiran perked up at the mention of exploring.

"So we can get a peek inside? Will we be doing some mapping as well? Or are we leaving that to your friends?"

"I figure we can leave mapping for when my fellows arrive. We can spend the mornin' exploring inside. We'll have to use guiding ropes to ensure we don't get lost though. No sense in being adventurous if yer only going to end up disappearing. Until then, feel free to spend tonight however yeh like. I might turn in early so I can get a good start in in the morn'."

Kiran gave a quick nod.

"I'll be practicing some ninjutsu outside then. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call for me."

Kiran grabbed his backpack and pulled out the scroll with the greenish blue ribbon. He then stepped outside and sat down, setting the scroll in front of him. He didn't really need it at this point, but having it with him helped his focus. It was a gift from his mother when he had started the academy and it reminded him of his goals. Thinking over the previous two days, he sighed softly and rolled his hands into fists, setting his chin on top of them. The trip had been fine so far, but being reminded of his mother's death and the war wasn't something he had wanted to do. For now, it would be best to focus on something else. He decided it would be good to continue his training. His goal was to be proficient enough to use the wind blade in combat.

I _bet I can get it down in a few days if I keep working on it. That breakthrough I had last time really helped me understand how to mold the chakra properly. Now all I need is some practical application_.

With a desire to distract himself, Kiran poured his attention back into the jutsu. He spent some time preparing himself by working through the same steps he had done before, and slowly worked his way towards forming a more solid and lengthy blade. When he had formed a blade about as long as his tanto, he practiced swinging it through the air. Satisfied with that, he began practicing piercing the sand below him, noting how deep and wide the gash was before it collapsed on itself when he retracted his arm. Although not quite successful at first, the gashes that he created slowly became deeper and sharper. With this success in mind, Kiran decided it would be a good idea to begin practicing with his other arm as well.

It would be important for him to master using this specific jutsu with his legs as well because it would add a vicious element to his swordplay and hand to hand skills that he didn't have. Blades of wind were almost invisible and sharp enough to cut through the toughest armor. This made it extremely difficult to combat effectively, as you would need to predict and dodge the strikes beforehand. It was possible to stop the blade, but that usually involved using another elemental jutsu. While being attacked at a close range, the defender would have no time to set up their defense. The best method of fighting would be to attack from range, or to somehow interrupt the chakra flow of the wind user.

As Kiran continued practicing, his thoughts drifted back to his mother. When she died, it had impacted himself and his father deeply. The relationship that they had with each other dwindled and strained as the years went by, finally snapping and falling apart when he graduated from the academy and became a genin. His father had told him that following after his mother would only lead to his own death and refused to support his decision. Although they remained in contact, they were never able to get back on proper footing with each other. Kiran hated this fact, and wished that somehow they could see eye to eye again. Unless one of them made a big change, however, that wasn't likely to happen.

Kiran regretted not being able to fix his relationship with his dad, but he was set on being a ninja. He had made a promise after her death to become strong and to protect what she had. He thought of his village, his friends and the people in the elemental nations, the very people that so many had died to protect. It was his duty now, as the torch had been passed on to the next generation. He would not fail to live up to this responsibility.

Focusing back on his training, Kiran noted that he had made some good progress. Although he wasn't doing as well with his left hand, it was still creating sharp gashes in the sand. Feeling the drain from continuous chakra use, Kiran decided that he should save his energy for tomorrow. He gave one final swing into the sand, satisfied with the amount spraying into the air, and then cut off his chakra. As long as he continued his progress, he would be able to use this in actual combat. He grabbed his scroll and looked into the sky, admiring the stars that had just begun to peek out the dark blanket they rested in.

He had always loved the night sky. His mother would take him stargazing when he was younger and she taught him the different constellations and what they represented. When he had quiet moments to himself at night, he loved to relive the memories of his time with his mom. His dad also loved to stargaze, but it was something they had stopped doing after the war ended. Kiran relaxed and let the memories fade away. After another quick shower it would be time to get some sleep and prepare for the next day. Tomorrow would be the first day of actual exploration.

* * *

Hey guys! Chapter 2 is done and I'm having fun writing this story. I'll be posting my next chapter in 3 weeks on January 18th. I know that's a while from now, but I have the next few chapters ready and I need time to review and edit them. Please leave a review if you liked, disliked or have some feedback!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tarko and Kiran woke up before the sun had risen and quickly made themselves ready for the day. Both of them were brimming with excitement, choosing not to talk in an effort to prepare as quickly as possible. Kiran was ready first, wearing his standard gear along with an extra pouch of shuriken and kunai on waist. He also carried a smaller pack on his back that had some food, water, ninja wire and a first aid kit just in case they were gone longer than expected. Tarko had more equipment than Kiran, carrying a few spools of neon colored string along with long nails with hooks on the end that would be used to mount the string to different surfaces. He carried a few torches and a notepad and pen, saying that if they came across something interesting he wanted to make a note of it. Looking over their gear one more time, the pair made sure they had everything they would need. Satisfied that their gear was in place, they set out towards the entrance to the archaeological site. Kiran made a quick hand seal to release the alert scroll that he had placed in camp. He wouldn't need to know if anyone was there while they were exploring.

As they trudged through the sand, the sun began to rise and peek over the crest of the dunes to the east. It continued to rise, causing the large shadows that enveloped the bowl they were in to slowly recede. When they finally made it to the entrance of the site, the shadows were almost entirely gone. Kiran took a look at what was in front of them. A thick stone slab was sitting a few inches above the sand, flanked by two statues of dragons. The dragons were sitting upright, looking straight ahead with a stoic expression, as if guarding against intruders. Each had four limbs with sharp claws and a pair of wings that were folded onto their backs. Between the statues was large wooden hatch with a circular handle. Tarko walked up to it, dusted off the sand and pulled it back. It creaked as it flew open, sending a cloud of sand into the air. Underneath, a staircase sat, leading down into the earth. A pitch black darkness consumed the stairs and seemed to swallow any light that dared to enter. Tarko pulled out a torch and lit it, illuminating the space ahead and revealing that the stairs continued far enough for the light to disappear into the darkness once again.

With a grin, Tarko began to descend and Kiran followed after him. Kiran's felt his heart thumping in his chest as he tried to contain his excitement. As they descended, the tension only seemed to increase as the thick stone walls slowly cooled the air around them. Once they finished walking down the stairs, they came to a small wooden doorway that was covered with carvings of dragons around the frame. Taking a moment to look back, Kiran could barely make out a square of light that was the entrance. He shook his head in amazement and stepped up to the door. A musty, damp scent met their nostrils and the air was thick with moisture. Tarko took a deep breath in and stroked his beard.

"Tis' not unusual for underground structures to have small pockets of water or to have streams running through them. Keep yerself aware lad, we're movin' through land that has been sittin' fer years. Follow after me and try not to touch anything."

Tarko handed the torch to Kiran and pulled out a small hammer and one of the nails with a hook at the end. He hammered the nail into the ground next to them and tugged on it to make sure it was set. Confident that it wasn't going to move, he put the hammer away and took out a spool of the neon string and tied it to the hook. He then set the spool on a small rod that stuck out of his pack, allowing it to unravel as he walked.

"Again lad, don't be touchin' things unless I've given ye a word first. If you see anything of note though give me a shout. Two sets of eyes are better than one."

Kiran gave Tarko a thumbs up.

"Alright. I'll be keeping an eye out."

With a nod Tarko took his torch back, grabbed the iron ring on the door, pulled it open and stepped through. Kiran followed shortly after and was able to get a good look at the cave that opened up in front of them. There were signs of man made objects, as massive pillars of smooth stone stood on each side of the room and supported the ceiling. The room itself was empty, except for large statues that were in the shape of… apes? They were arranged in a formation, set in between the pillars around the room. The apes and pillars made a small path that led to a large wooden double door that was reinforced with metal. Kiran took a moment to inspect one of the statues closely. A large ape, taller than himself by about two feet, was poised confidently, with his two-handed sword strapped across his back. The ape was wearing thin leather armor around its chest and legs, had boots on his feet, a headband on his brow, and had various painted lines drawn on its face. The most surprising feature of the statue, however, were the eyes. As Kiran looked into them, he was shocked at the amount of detail they had. They were a dark grey and looked like they were made out of some kind of smooth marble. If it wasn't a statue, he could have sworn that it was looking right back at him, its face frozen in an eternal grimace. He took a moment to sense for chakra around him and could feel the faintest whisper of it coming from the statue. A chill ran down his spine and he stood still for a moment, taking it all in. Not wanting to stand in the ape's gaze, he took a step away, making his way back to Tarko.

"These statues are something else Tarko. They seem so lifelike. Have you ever seen anything like this?"

Tarko continued to walk forward, stroking his beard.

"I have to say lad, I haven't seen detail like this before. These beasties would be breathing if not for the stone that keeps them still. Whoever made these put their heart and soul into their work and I can respect that. I am curious as to why there are statues of dragons here as well. These aren't creatures that I can recall being mixed together in any sort of tradition, religion or culture. Maybe we will find an answer further down here. Let's keep movin' forward, I don't like the way yer friend over there is lookin' at me."

Tarko gave a hearty chuckle as he moved towards the double doors. Kiran followed, but not before looking back to give a final inspection of the statues behind them. Something was... off. His instincts were telling him to be careful so he took a steadying breath and checked to make sure that both his tanto and his kunai pouch were easy to reach. Comforted by the cold steel of his weapons, he focused his attention back to the door ahead. It was a huge door, reaching up about fifteen feet and one of them was slightly ajar. Behind the door was a mysterious soft yellow light that shimmered in the air. Tarko set another small anchor at the door, made sure it was secure, tied the string through and continued forward.

In the next room, the cavern opened up and spread out in all directions. Instead of pillars supporting the ceiling, natural formations of rock shot up and supported the roof of the cave. All around the area were small globes of something, floating around gently as if carried by a summer breeze. They gave off enough light to see comfortably without the torch, so Tarko extinguished his. On the ground was a surprising amount of plants and Kiran could hear the sound of water roaring in the distance. Despite being deep underground, life continued to exist, oblivious to the world above. Directly ahead of where they stood, Kiran could faintly make out the outline of some large buildings. Forward and to his right, there was a cluster of buildings that seemed to make up a small village. Much to his discomfort, there was also an smattering ape statues littered all over the place. Instead of just seeing statues of warriors, there were slimmer apes dressed in casual wear that were either working or surround by much smaller apes that vied for their attention. Kiran was floored by the detail and began to wonder who had taken the time to make all of these statues. Tarko nudged him, breaking him out of his thoughts and pointed to the large buildings ahead of them.

"Ya see those in the distance? Let's head that way. We may be able to find something that will help explain the mystery here. Stick close, and watch out fer holes in the ground. Fall into the wrong one and ya might be stuck fer good."

"Right, I wouldn't want to disappear into some mysterious hole. Why don't you lead the way Tarko?."

With a merry smile, Tarko walked forward on a path that had been made with small paved stones, continuing straight before branching out in a few different directions. To the left of the path was a small stream that came close but curved out and away from them, leading to a much darker part of the cave. Kiran could now distinctly hear the sound of roaring water, probably meaning there was a waterfall somewhere. After a minute of walking, they were closer to the cluster of small buildings and Kiran could make out a large amount of apes that were carrying crystals that glowed a dark purple. Behind the village, Kiran could see what he assumed to be a mining facility, with various tools and equipment to help mine the crystals that he could see buried in the earth. Maybe the crystals were an important resource for the villagers?

Looking back towards the path, Kiran looked at the large building. It was becoming clearer, and seemed to be some kind of temple with a few buildings that flanked it. At the front of the temple was a large pond that had another statue of a dragon in its center. This statue was standing on its legs, with its wings spread out behind it in a show of aggression. It was a distinct purple color and had a wicked grin along with amber eyes that burned with intense anger. Kiran nudged Tarko with his elbow.

"Now that's cool. I bet it took years to carve out that statue. I wonder if dragons had some kind of special meaning to the people who lived here?"

"It could be possible lad. We may never know for sure. If we're lucky, we'll eventually find some kind of historical documents or drawings that will help to distinguish that."

Tarko took a moment to write something down on his notepad and Kiran continued to marvel at the statue. Once he had finished writing, Tarko closed the notepad and slipped it back into the pocket on his shirt.

"Well Kiran, at this point, we can explore wherever we would like. We could go inside the temple, explore the village, or head off to follow this stream that goes into the dark section of the cave. What do you think lad? We have the cave to ourselves and plenty of time to explore!"

Thinking for a moment, Kiran motioned towards the temple ahead of them.

"Let's check the temple out. If we want to find some answers, I bet we'd find them there. Maybe there's a library or some kind of study inside?"

Tarko nodded.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was lad. Temple it is!"

Tarko took the lead as they approached and Kiran was taken aback by how large the building was. The whole structure was as tall as the cavern and extremely wide. A lone wooden arch marked the entryway to the courtyard of the temple and a stone wall branched out from that point, surrounding the temple itself. When they reached the arch, Tarko set another anchor and unraveled more string. After that, they stepped into the courtyard and once again were met with statues of apes. A majority of the apes in this area seemed to be covered in robes of some sort, rather than armor or clothes. Aside from the apes, there were benches, lots filled with sand and training dummies, a few fire pits and large dirt paths that split out towards each building. Perhaps this temple was used as some sort of training ground?

Kiran looked over the temple itself and noted that there were three separate buildings. The main building ahead of them had two floors, with large balconies spread across the front and sides. To the left was a much smaller building that also had two floors, but had no balconies or windows that he could see. Instead, it seemed to form a large circle, and had large entryways on all sides. The third building was as big as the first, with a main section connecting to two towers that sat on each end. Each building of the temple had the same style of construction, consisting of large pieces of stone, slanted roofing made of red tiles, wooden doors and archways, glass windows and a faded symbol of bronze at each entrance. The walls of the buildings seemed to be fairly simple, but sturdy and in surprisingly good condition. Tarko grabbed his notepad, furrowing his brow with narrowed eyes as he grumbled to himself. Curios, Kiran gave him a nudge.

"What's up? You sound upset."

"Not upset lad, just interested. I have never seen architecture like this before and it's in very good condition. I don't understand how everything has been preserved so well in this atmosphere, but I won't complain. This may be an entirely new society, which would be an incredible discovery! Tis' great news lad! Give me a moment to make some more notes, then we'll continue inside."

Once Tarko finished jotting down notes, they headed towards the main building. There was no door, just an opening that led inside. As they stepped through it, Kiran felt a small, unsettling feeling fall over him. Something about this building was making him nervous, so he took a look around and behind himself. Besides the ape statues, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. There was the small traces of chakra in the statues, but that wasn't any different than before. Tarko looked back at Kiran and urged him forward.

"What are ya doin' lad? We can gawk later!"

Kiran shrugged to himself and turned around, deciding that he was just jumpy from the claustrophobic feeling of being deep underground.

Tarko made sure to set another anchor and the pair walked forwards through a hallway the led into a large open hall. There were many different corridors leading out of this hall, along with assorted furniture such as benches and tables. Banners flowed down from the roof with different designs and inscriptions on them. In the center of the hall was a large circular desk with nothing on top of it. There were a few signs next to some of the corridors, but Kiran could not make out what they said as the wood was worn down and the text had faded away. Tarko, deciding on random corridor, chose one to their left to begin exploring in. As he walked down the hall, he began poking his head into different rooms only to be disappointed by finding them empty or without substance. Because there was nothing interesting, Kiran was left with a growing sense of disappointment although Tarko remained chipper and plowed forwards without hesitation. Kiran felt his stomach growl and he started to think about taking a break for a snack, but Tarko vanished around a corner near the end of the hall. A moment later, he heard him call back excitedly.

"I think I found somethin' lad! Quick, get over here!"

Kiran forgot about his hunger and hurried around the corner. He saw Tarko standing at the end of the hallway, looking through a doorway. Kiran jogged over to the door and looked inside to see what Tarko was talking about. Inside was a huge circular room that had bookshelves lining the walls. He estimated that the room would be big enough to fit all of the statues that he had in the cave and more. Scattered throughout the room were books that were laying on the floor in disarray. In the center of the room was a small pedestal that had a book laid upon it, open to a page with text that he couldn't read. Interestingly, there was writing on the pedestal as well that ran into small channels dug into the floor. These channels ran along the floor, up the walls and ended in a spiral on the ceiling directly above the pedestal. Lining the walls inside of alcoves above the bookshelves were hundreds of purple crystals illuminating the room with a dim purple hew. Kiran could feel a large amount of chakra humming in the room and noticed that the book was the center of that energy. He briefly wondered if the crystals and book were some type of ninja artifact, but pushed those thoughts aside. He turned his attention to the shelves full of books and took a step into the room. Tarko held out a hand and stopped him from entering.

"Careful lad, we don't want to damage anything. There's a lot that we could save and take back to camp here. Let me take the first look and then you can follow me. I'll give you the all clear when you can come in."

"Alright."

Tarko stepped into the room and began to inspect different objects, looking at the pedestal first and then the shelves containing the books. As he mumbled to himself, Kiran saw something directly ahead of them. He leaned to the side and took a glance at the door on the opposite end of the room, startling himself when he saw another ape statue standing directly in the entrance, staring right back at him with bitter eyes. This one was different that the others that he had seen, as it was taller, had distinct markings on its robes and carried a strange looking staff with an orb and feathers on the end. For some reason it seemed to be frowning at him.

_Ok, that's creepy. Who the heck would put a statue is such an odd spot? What kind of weirdo does that?_

Kiran shivered, and waited for Tarko, who was busy inspecting the channels that lined the floor, following them and making note of the symbol on the ceiling. He mumbled to himself and inspected the bookshelves again, taking the time to feel the wood as well and the floor surrounding them. Satisfied, he began scanning the shelves, stopping every few books before moving again.

"Well lad, it should be safe to pick up some of these books. They're in very good condition and there shouldn't be any danger or ruining them. I'll be taking a look at the pedestal, so why don't ya see if you can find something that has a language you can read."

"Sure thing Tarko."

Kiran paused for a moment before asking a question.

"Hey Tarko, why would someone spend so much time building all of these statues? Something doesn't seem right about them."

"Tis' a good question lad. There must be some purpose behind it, but I can't give any reason as to why. I've never seen anything quite like this temple before. I have many questions and no answers, so we may find ourselves here much longer than I thought. Where did it come from? Why is it here? Who were the people that lived here? Tis' a mystery that will take some time to solve."

"Alright. I'll see if I can't find anything in these books. There's got to be some kind of book explaining the history on this place."

Tarko chuckled and shook his head.

"It it was that easy lad I wouldn't have me job. Now, leave me be. I'll be taking a look at this pedestal."

With a nod, Kiran began looking through some of the books on the shelves.

* * *

Kiran had spent a good chunk of time looking through the various shelves of books. He was losing hope however, as all of the books he had looked at so far were written in a language that he didn't understand. Despite some of them having very interesting covers, he could only sigh and set it back once he knew he couldn't read it. He was about to call for Tarko when he felt a large wave of ominous, dense chakra pass over them. The weight of it made Kiran feel sick, and he held one of his arms over his stomach for as he was forced to one knee. Then suddenly, it was gone, as quickly as it had come. He heard Tarko curse to himself and something heavy hit the ground. Worried, Kiran hurried over to Tarko to see what had happened.

"Tarko, is everything all right? Did you feel that just now?"

"Tis' fine lad, I was just reading some of the words in the book. Not that it did squat. And no, I didn't feel anything, what are you talking about?"

Confused, Kiran looked at Tarko with questioning eyes. Before he could grill Tarko for a better answer, he got a quick glimpse at the other door where the ape had been. He stopped glaring and stood in shock, as the ape that was once looking at him angrily was gone. He immediately felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. With a serious tone, he got Tarko's attention.

"Tarko."

"Yes lad?"

Kiran pointed to the door he was looking at.

"Did you see the statue in the doorway over there earlier?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well, there was one there earlier. Now it's gone. Something is wrong.

Tarko, took a quick look at Kiran, raising an eyebrow.

"Lad, I think ye may be worrying too much. I understand yer not used to this type of work, but don't worry about it. I'm sure ye were just getting confused with another door."

Kiran tightened one of his fists around the hilt of his sword.

"Tarko, I'm pretty sure we need to go. I'm here to protect you, right? Let's head back and wait for the rest of your group."

Tarko frowned and crossed his arms.

"Now hold on. Just because you think one statue has gone missing doesn't mean we need to head back. Let's stick around fer just a bit longer. I'm sure yer just getting anxious from the air. A bit longer, then we head back. Fair?"

Kiran grimaced but nodded.

"Fine, how about thirty minutes and then we go?"

Tarko gave a nod and grinned.

"Alright lad. Now, let me make one more note of this room and then we can continue exploring. Me gut is tellin' me that we will find more further in the temple."

Kiran reluctantly allowed Tarko to finish his notes and continue exploring. Although Tarko had been confident about their search, it reverted to how it had been before they found the circular room. After being continuously disappointed, Kiran relaxed as nothing had seemed to change. Maybe he really was being paranoid? Perhaps it was because it was strange to see such a large building so barren and empty. Kiran wondered what it had been used for before it was lost to the world. Was it a place of education? Maybe it was used for spiritual purposes? Or perhaps it was a public space, open for all to enjoy? Tapping his cheek, he thought about the dragons that he had seen etched on the doors and stone. Dragons were an unusual sight in Ninji, as they were nothing more than a legend. He knew that there were some who viewed them in a spiritual sense, but he didn't understand why. Feeling that it was time to go, he was about to speak when Tarko sighed heavily.

"Well lad, I suppose we should be heading back, seein' as we haven't found anything in a bit. Why don't you help me coil up this string as we walk? I'll be needin' it fer the next time we're here."

With an internal sigh of relief, Kiran nodded. They began to retrace their steps, following the string that Tarko had laid out beforehand. His stomach was feeling better now and the thought of being back at camp was soothing. With a jolt he realized that he would be meeting Tarko's friends soon.

"Hey Tarko? Who all is traveling here? Maybe you could give me a brief rundown on all of them so we can make introductions quick."

"Good idea lad. But who should I talk about first? Gaius, perhaps, as he is me best mate and he'll be workin' with us directly. Or maybe Sarnaes? That grumpy old fart can be a pain in the rear, but he's even more seasoned than I am. There's also Kouta, who may seem a bit childish at first, but she has the enthusiasm and confidence to handle any challenge. Ya know, why don't I start off with a story! That way I can give ye a-"

Kiran tuned Tarko out as he was now telling another lame story. He had to hold onto his sanity long enough to make it back into the large open hall. When they finally emerged, Kiran smiled in relief. Just ahead, he could make out the dirt and stone that marked part of the courtyard they had been in before. With a skip in his step, Kiran hustled to take a look outside. As he was doing this, Tarko gave a small harrumph and picked up his pace, passing Kiran. It was at this moment, as Tarko was about to turn the corner that Kiran noticed it. He could just barely hear three new voices that were coming from outside of the entrance. His heart skipped a beat and he jumped forward, grabbed Tarko's shoulder and pulled him back, just before he could step outside. Ignoring Tarko's protest, he shushed him and steadied himself, putting his hand into a ram seal. He could barely feel three chakra signatures about ten feet that were heading towards them. He whispered quietly to Tarko.

"Tarko, stay quiet and follow me. We're not as alone as we thought. Someone else is down here. Until I know who it is, we're going to take the safe approach and stay out of their way, alright?"

With a surprised look and a nod, Tarko went silent and watched Kiran intently. Kiran motioned him back and cut the string that was attached to Tarko with a kunai, much to his protest. He moved them back into one of the corridors, with a good view of the Hall. He had Tarko put out his torch, and they were enveloped in darkness. Satisfied that they were out of view, Kiran peered slightly around the corner and waited.

_Slow pace, small signatures. Probably just one of Tarko's buddies that came down to explore as well. Just relax. No reason to worry yet._

He could hear the voices clearly now and they were talking to one another. They were deep and guttural and they were accompanied with the clanging of metal against metal. There were heavy steps that caused a deep thump to reverberate through the hall as they moved. The light of a torch began to grow in intensity, signaling that they were getting close. Kiran quietly counted down to himself as the persons neared the entrance to the hall.

_"Five… Four… Three… Two... One!"_

To his shock, passing by the entryway were three apes, alive and breathing. They were just as large as the statues he had seen, standing at about eight feet tall. They had thick grey fur, with large upper bodies being supported by much smaller legs and feet. The had sharp fangs coming from their lower lip, along with different paint spread across their faces. Each one had a different weapon strapped to their back or waist, along with a various leather pieces or metal plates strapped to their bodies. One of them, the largest one, growled and shoved a smaller one. The third ape stopped and kneeled on the ground, inspecting the cord and anchor that lay there. The two other apes began to argue, shoving and growling at each other angrily.

"What in blazes are those noises lad? What do you see?"

Kiran froze as the third ape stopped inspecting the string and turned around, looking down the hall. Kiran ducked his head back into the corridor and glared at Tarko, signaling for him to be quiet with a finger at his lips. Kiran heard the ape sniff deeply and then get the attention of the other two. He spoke with a gruff voice.

"Stop fighting you idiots! I think I heard something over there. Boss said we need to be looking for the intruders, not goofing around. It could be them, so ready your weapons and follow me."

Kiran heard the grumbling complaints of the other two apes and the sound of weapons being drawn from their sheathes. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the torch from Tarko and tossed it into a room away from them. He then motioned Tarko into another room, and grabbed him around his waist. He then jumped up and attached himself to the ceiling using his chakra. He waited in silence, as the padded footsteps became louder. Two shadows moved past the door, sniffing in search of their prey, but the third slowly stepped into the room, standing directly below them. The ape took another large sniff and growled. Kiran remained perfectly silent, but Tarko's breath caught, causing the ape to stand at alert with his weapon ready.

"Who's there!? I know you're in here!"

Tarko went pale, clenching his fists tightly as the ape began to search the room thoroughly. As he searched, his buddies also came into the room, asking him what he had seen.

"I know I heard something. Better yet, I can _smell_ something. Hargo, your torch. Whatever is hiding won't be able to escape from us."

With a grunt of affirmation, one of the apes moved his torch around the room exposing all of the dark corners within. The apes looked around, only to become confused when the room was completely empty. They looked up, one of them directly at Tarko and Kiran, but they didn't react.

"Looks like nothing is here Berg. I smell them too, but they've got to be in a different room. Let's start at the main hall again and see if we can get a better scent. Let's go Waru, Hargo."

With a growl and bristle of his fur, Hargo followed after the other two apes as they all left the room. Kiran relaxed a bit and released the jutsu, glad that the last second genjutsu he had cast on the apes had worked. He wasn't very adept at genjutsu, but it was enough to fool them. He had made it so that the specific spot they were hiding in would look empty. After the footsteps faded away, Kiran jumped down with Tarko and set him down. Tarko let out a huge sigh of relief and shakily wiped some sweat away from his brow.

"I can't believe they didn't see us. I swore one of them looked right at me lad!"

"I put an illusion on them to make them see nothing instead of us. I wasn't sure if it would work, so we got lucky."

"Well, I'm glad it did. We need to get out of here lad. I don't know what made those apes come alive, but they don't seem friendly. I say we leave and wait for me fellows at the camp, eh?"

"Sure. Let's move quickly and carefully. I don't want to run into any more apes, so follow after me. Maybe we can get up to the second floor to see if there are any more groups like that wandering around the temple. If not, we can leave the same way we came. If there are, we may have to find a way to sneak out of here."

Tarko frowned but nodded.

"Fine lad. But warn me before ya manhandle me next time. I don't like being tossed around like a child."

Kiran did his best not to sigh in frustration.

"Yup, sorry about that. I didn't have that much time to think and I didn't want us to be seen. Anyway, let's grab the torch and then go check out the main hall to see if it's clear. If it is, I can carry us up to the second floor."

Tarko nodded in agreement and they grabbed their torch. They kept the torch unlit, in an effort to move as stealthily as possible. Despite the dark atmosphere, there was enough natural light to make out where they needed to move comfortably. The pair carefully made their way to the end of the hallway. Hearing and sensing nothing, Kiran slowly peeked around the corner, looking first to his left and then to his right. While the left was clear, with only empty desks, to the right was the small group of apes that had been searching for them. They were gathered around the string by the door, talking and sniffing the air. With a frown, he looked at the second floor balconies surrounding the hall, trying to determine if there was a good spot for him and Tarko to climb up. It would be a quick way to the second floor, but they would probably be seen. Deciding against the climbing, he whispered back to Tarko.

"No good going from the hall. Our friends are still there and it doesn't seem like they'll be leaving anytime soon. Do you remember seeing any stairs while we were exploring earlier?"

Tarko thought for a second before snapping his fingers.

"I think I remember us passing stairs around the circular room with the pedestal. Let's retrace our steps from earlier and see if we can get there."

Kiran agreed and they ducked back into the corridor, doing their best to follow the original path. Kiran went first, staying alert, with Tarko directly behind him. They had to hide while searching twice, as other groups of apes had begun to patrol the temple as well. Kiran silently thanked Yvaine for drilling the importance of sensor training into his head because they would be in serious trouble without it. Even though he couldn't see them, he could sense when they were about ten feet away and had a chance to hide before they came into view. Finally, after spending several minutes sneaking through the hals, Kiran spotted a set of stairs ahead of them to their left. Silently celebrating, he motioned Tarko to follow him and they quickly made their way to the second floor. From there, they were able to find a room that had a good view of the surrounding area outside. Kiran was disheartened by what he saw.

Somehow, it seemed that all of the ape statues they had seen on their way in were now awakened. There was a lot of activity, with patrols, citizens, and workers all doing their own tasks. Torches were lit all over, illuminating the cave with small specks of light. Kiran noticed some type of hue that now surrounded the temple and assumed it was some type of barrier. He wasn't sure if it was an alarm or a physical wall, so he decided to put it to the test. Waiting for a patrol to pass, he grabbed a shuriken and waited until they were gone. He then threw it at the barrier and it flew with a small whistle, only coming to a stop when it hit the shimmering wall, causing a small ripple to dance across the surface. Although unnoticed by the apes, it left Kiran in a state of growing concern. Kiran scanned the wall, searching for an opening and found a small section near the archway that didn't have the same shimmer as everywhere else. He saw several apes walking in and out of that opening, going about their business. He motioned for Tarko to look at the arch.

"There. That's how we get out of here. I don't think we'll be able to jump over the walls to get out. Do you see the strange shimmer? It's some type of barrier, and I'm not too keen on trying to force our way through it. We'll have to sneak through the opening somehow. Do you have any way to disguise yourself?"

Tarko shook his head.

"I don't lad. Not unless you something that I can use."

"I don't. I'm not that skilled in illusions either so I we don't have many options here. Maybe we can wait it out? If we see an opportunity, we can sneak out. I can move fast, even if I have to carry you."

"If that's our only option then I guess we take it. Ya better make sure we have a clear shot though. I don't want to see their weapons up close."

Kiran gave him a thumbs up.

"You can count on me Tarko. I'll get us out of here."

Kiran began to look back at the archway and started studying the apes that were moving in and out. On each side of the arch stood two apes, still and stoic, monitoring everyone who was entering and leaving. He would have to figure out a way to distract or disable them for their escape to work. He also noticed that there were several apes carrying the dark purple crystals into the grounds, heading inside the main entrance of the building they were in. With them were groups of apes with robes that huddled together. The training grounds that he had seen earlier were now alive with activity, as apes of all sizes were beginning to practice and spar with their weapons. Kiran came to a sudden realization as he continued to observe.

"Tarko, I think the people that lived here were the apes. It would make sense, if the statues were actually alive the whole time."

Tarko looked surprised by the idea, but nodded in agreement.

"I think you're right lad. These beasties must live here. But how did they turn into stone? What could have caused something like that? What if it happens again? I don't like any of this lad. We need to get out of here!"

"Be ready then. I think we'll have a chance to run when there is a lull in the foot traffic or when the guards change shifts. Until then I need you to stay calm and quiet."

Tarko frowned but nodded.

"Fine. But I expect us to leave sooner rather than later. It doesn't do me heart good to be stressed like this."

Kiran grit his teeth, turned back and continued to watch, just as a group of the apes began barking orders and gathering around the entrance. Large regiments of the apes began to assemble, forming large rows that stood still and steady as they waited for something. Kiran saw a very large, heavily armored ape enter through the archway, standing far above the rest of the apes with a commanding presence. He had a sinister scowl on his face, and stood still in front of those assembled, silencing every ape present. He then began to speak in a deep, guttural voice.

"Listen up! We need to prepare for our return to the dragon realms! Malefor has blessed us with the opportunity to serve him as a contigent army He has finally deemed it fit for us to return! I know many of you are weary or weak from being your slumber, but I ask that you steel yourselves as we return and continue our struggle to overcome and destroy the dragons! Long live Malefor! Long live king Gaul!"

The commander raised his fist into the air and the courtyard erupted into a thunderous roar as apes began to yell in agreement. The large ape raised his hands, quieting them once again.

"All of you, go, gather your families and belongings. We will be returning home as soon as the final preparations are made. Once you are ready, head to the portal room. Dismissed!"

The apes who were assembled scattered in various directions. Some left the temple while others hurried over to friends to begin discussing what was about to happen. As the crowd at the gate dispersed, a group of apes entered, leading a small group of humans into the courtyard. There were two of them walking, and a third was being dragged across the ground, a large bloody gash visible on his forehead. They stopped in front of the commander and one of them, a dark haired man, protested and seemed to be pleading with them. The commander, without a word, backhanded him, sending him sprawling into the dirt. The apes that were gathered laughed at the display, and the commander talked to the apes while pointing into the building Kiran and Tarko were in. The apes then began forcing the group forwards, restraining the woman as she began to trash and fight against them. Tarko harshly whispered Gaius's name and started to mount the window frame before Kiran pulled him back into the window. Tarko thrashed in his grip, threatening to reveal their presence.

"Let me go Kiran, those are me friends! I'll smash those apes to pieces if they even think of layin' a hand on them!"

Kiran tightened his grip and yelled at Tarko.

"Tarko, shut up! We're going to get caught if you're yelling like that! What do you think you're going to do against an entire army of apes?! Look, we can save them, but we need to use our heads, not our guts. Let's follow them and when we have a proper opportunity, we'll begin our rescue. Keep in mind, we still need to figure out how we're going to get out of here. It will be even harder with an entire group of people the apes are looking for. We have to play this cool, otherwise it won't end well. Understand?"

Tarko stopped attempting to break free of Kiran's iron grip and slumped inwardly. Both of them were breathing heavily as the tension in the air began to diffuse.

"I do lad. I just can't bear to see me friends in danger. Tis' me family, and I won't abandon them."

Tarko cleared his throat and sighed.

"Yer going to help me save them. Fer now I'll follow yer lead, but if it comes down to it I'll save them me self. Keep in mind that I'm payin' yah to help me, so if I decide to do something different you need to listen to _me_. Got it?"

Kiran had to hold back the anger that filled his body like a kettle full of steam. He let the feeling pass and let go of Tarko.

"Got it. For now, follow me and keep quiet. We need to shadow them if we want to have any hope of a rescue. Remember, slow and quiet. As long as we stay calm, we can do this."

Kiran turned away from the window and lead Tarko to the door, unconvinced with his own words.

_Does he really expect me to be able to save an entire group of people? This is going downhill fast. First a few apes, then an army, and now a rescue on top of escaping? I don't know how this is going to work. This is way above a C rank mission at this point._

Kiran was beginning to heavily doubt that he would be able to save any of Tarko's friends, let alone Tarko. There were too many apes, too many people and not enough time. This wasn't going to work, and they weren't going to escape. He interrupted his own spiraling train of thoughts with those of his mother, and the resolve she had when she had left the village for the last time. She had made a promise to keep her family and friends safe. Although Tarko wasn't family, Kiran had made a promise when he accepted the mission to protect him, and he would do his best to keep that promise.

Shaking away his doubts, he tightened the headband around his arm. It was time to prove to Tarko that he was a man of his word, even in the face of a growing danger. It was time to prove he was worthy of the title as a Ninja of Sunagakure. He would save Tarko's friends, and they would all make it out safely. He would make sure of it.

* * *

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed chapter 3! I'm posting it a day early because I won't have time to do so tomorrow. If you like the story, don't like it, or have some constructive criticism, let me know! I'm having a great time writing so far and the next chapter will have a lot of content that I've never tried writing about before. I'll be posting chapter 4 on February 8th. I'll see you all again then!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kiran checked both sides of the hallways before opening the door and stepping outside of the room. He motioned for Tarko to follow him and quietly began making his way through the hallways on the second floor. Kiran started to check each room as they moved, hoping to find a room with a good view of the main hall. If they were going to shadow the apes that had Tarko's friends, they would need a good vantage point. After three rooms, he found a room with a balcony that overlooked the hall, located above the main entryway of the temple. He checked to make sure the room was clear and then slinked his way inside. When Tarko entered the room behind him, Kiran told him to stay by the door and keep watch. Then, Kiran carefully made his way to the guardrail and laid down on his belly to prevent himself from being seen.

It only took him a second to find the group of apes leading the humans away. They were already past the circular desk in the middle of the hall and turned to exit down a corridor near the back right of the building. Before giving chase, Kiran took a moment to listen to the area around from the sounds of apes outside, there didn't seem to be anyone near where they were. Relieved, Kiran slithered back into the room to talk to Tarko and pointed in the direction of the apes.

"Alright Tarko, they took them to the other side of the building. We need to be quick so I'll have to pick you up for a second so we can hop down to the main floor. I didn't hear any apes but be prepared just in case."

"Fine lad. But if you drop me I will never forgive you."

Kiran ignored the comment and turned around, grimacing as Tarko quickly shuffled up onto his back. Once he had a good grip, Kiran wrapped his arms around Tarko's legs and made his way over to the balcony. He jumped up and stood on the guardrail before jumping down to the main floor. He then set Tarko down and they hurried over to where the apes had been. Kiran carefully peeked around the corner, where he could see the group take a left turn, disappearing into a room. Keeping his senses alert, Kiran led them down the corridor. As they approached the room the apes had moved into, he could hear the sounds of people being shoved around, along with different gruff voices that were giving orders. A woman's voice rang out among the din, as she fought against whatever the apes were doing to her.

"Let me go you freaks! What the hell is your problem!? We aren't intruders! We were just here to explore, not to stop whatever freaky things you're doing! Why can't you just let us go?"

Kiran heard an ape groan as others growled angrily, before one of them began to talk.

"Shut up! None of you humans are allowed to speak! You have intruded upon our city and must be dealt with before we return to the dragon realms. The mages will decide what to do with you. If you speak again I will muzzle you, understand!?"

Another voice spoke, sounding somewhat desperate.

"Listen to him Kouta, please."

There was a short pause.

"Alright Sarnaes, but if they try anything again I'll kill them!"

Kiran heard a few apes chuckle at that remark and sighed. Behind him, he could almost feel Tarko trembling with anger.

_If he does something stupid now he's on his own. _

Kiran rolled his eyes, turned and reminded Tarko to remain calm by putting his palm on his shoulder. Tarko frowned and looked away but otherwise seemed like he would listen. The room was quiet now as the apes waited for the mages and Kiran used this opportunity to peek into the room and see how many apes were there.

_Ok, eight apes. Two by the door, three along the walls and one for each prisoner. If I'm going to break them out, I'll either have to take care of them all at once or create a good enough distraction that we can escape. I don't know what their skills are like so I'm going to have to wing this. In terms of the prisoners, it looks like I'll have to carry one of them since he's out cold. That gash on his forehead looks pretty bad and I may have to stitch it closed before we leave. The other two should be able to run though, which is good. I think my best bet will be to rush them when the best opportunity presents itself._

As Kiran formulated his plan, two robed apes appeared from a door on the opposite end of the room. The armored apes had all of the humans move and stand in the middle of the room, with the exception of Gauis who was laying on the floor with a small pool of blood under his head. The mages walked over to one of the apes and they began to talk in hushed voices. The mages then took a moment to talk between themselves before one of them stepped forward, clearing his throat.

"They will be coming with us. We could always use more natural energy for the transfer. Bring them to the portal room, as we will need to hurry if we want to extract their energy properly. If they struggle or fight back, kill them. We don't need to trouble ourselves with those who are unwilling, yes? Also, get rid of the one who is already dying. He will only be a burden to us."

The apes nodded and mages turned, flourishing their robes as they left the room without saying another word. With grunts of affirmation, the apes began to shove Kouta and Sarnaes towards the doors that the mages had exited. Kouta began to resist, waving her arms around frantically.

"What the hell does he mean by portal? Sarnaes, do something! We have to get out of here!"

The other man that Kiran assumed to be Sarnaes grunted and tried to break free of his captor by punching him, but his efforts were useless against the naturally thick skin of the ape. Furious, the ape hit Sarnaes in the head with the hilt of a sword, dazing him to the point where he couldn't resist. Kouta screamed as she and Sarnaes were then dragged to the back of the room. Another ape pulled out his weapon and stepped over the unconscious man. As they were doing this, Kiran pulled out two kunai and a small pellet from the pouch on his leg. He also pulled out a small cloth and wrapped it around his mouth and nose. He then set both kunai between his fingers, holding them in one hand, ready to be thrown. Before he was able to put his plan into action, however, Tarko charged into the room with a cry of fury, waving his backpack in the air.

_That idiot! He's going to get us killed!_

Before Tarko had a chance to engage the surprised apes, Kiran stood up in front of the door and threw both of the kunai in his right hand. The first went towards the ape that was about to kill the man laying on the ground. It sailed through the air and struck him in the left temple, killing him instantly and causing his body to crumple to the ground. The second kunai flew and hit another ape in the throat, sinking handle deep into his neck. The ape feebly clutched at it in surprise, trying to stop the blood that began to pour out of the wound. As the other apes began to draw their weapons, Kiran threw the pellet in his hand to the ground in the middle of the room. A great cloud of smoke erupted and filled the area, causing all who were caught in the smoke to begin coughing and sputtering. Kiran, holding his breath, ran into the smoke and used the cover to grab the man on the floor. With him secured, he ran towards the door, managing to grab a coughing Tarko as he dashed out of the room. Kiran shoved Tarko against the wall and set the injured man down on the ground. Angrily, he turned to Tarko and yelled at him.

"Stay right here and wait for me you moron! You could have died!"

Before Tarko had a chance to respond, Kiran turned to go back into the room. One of the apes began shouting orders from inside of the smoke.

"We're under attack! Grab the prisoners and go! The rest of you, form up! Kill anything that moves!

Kiran cursed under his breath. He didn't have much time.

"I'll be back Tarko. Stay here and kill any apes that try to leave the room, you can use this."

Kiran tossed Tarko his tanto and ran back into the room, now focused on rescuing the rest of the humans. As he entered the door, he had to duck backwards, barely dodging a sword as one of the apes next to it had recovered enough to attack. The ape had swung hard with both hands and buried his sword into the door frame. Kiran regained his balance, grabbed another kunai from his leg pouch with his right hand and swung his arm up and into the ape's exposed armpit. The ape screamed in pain and grabbed at his arm, allowing Kiran enough time for a spinning jump. Using the momentum from the spin, he smashed his left heel directly into the ape's jaw. The ape twirled around twice before falling to the floor in a heap. As Kiran landed from his jump, he turned and sidestepped to his left as a scimitar slashed the air where he was. He grabbed this ape's wrist with his right hand and swung hard with his left, smashing the ape's elbow and causing the arm to bend inwards, effectively breaking it. Ignoring the cries of anguish, Kiran then pulled the ape forward and down, using the momentum to drive his knee into its nose. A loud crunch came from the ape's face and it fell to the ground, motionless.

By the time the second ape had fallen, most of the apes had managed to form a small defensive circle near the center of the room. They were trying to follow the sounds of screaming and combat but were struggling due to the smoke. The two apes with prisoners had broken away from the others and were slowly making their way to the back of the room, one of them grunting as Kouta kicked, screamed and bit him in an attempt to break free. Kiran moved around the circle of apes and moved smoothly through the smoke, finding the ape with the woman. The ape had its back turned to him, allowing Kiran to run up and stab it in the back of the skull with his kunai. The ape went stiff and fell forwards, almost landing on top of the woman as she backed away frantically. The woman looked down at the bloodied ape and panicked, screaming hysterically. Kiran ran up to her, his kunai covered with blood and she turned to run away from him. Kiran grabbed her arm just before she could slip out of his reach and she immediately resisted, clawing and pushing him away as much as she could.

"LET ME GO YOU MONSTER!"

"HEY!" Kiran dodged another swipe from Kouta. "Calm down! I'm not an enemy!"

The sound of his voice gave the woman pause and she looked at him in shock and surprise. Using her silence as permission, Kiran picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the room. He had barely made it through the door before the smoke dissipated enough for the apes to see. Around them, they saw three of their comrades lying on the ground either dead or severely injured. One of them looked towards the door and saw Kiran.

"There he is! By the door!"

The rest looked over and roared in unison, pointing their weapons forwards towards Kiran. They charged, ready to kill, their eyes brimming with an unrestrained rage. Kiran scanned the room quickly but did not see the last human. He set the woman down and drew a kunai with a paper tag attached. He turned, throwing it into the midst of the apes and put his right hand up in the motion for the snake seal, causing the tag to explode. All of the apes were caught in the blast and were thrown away from the explosion, sporting various burns on their bodies. They all landed roughly on the ground and moaned or remained silent. Satisfied that the apes wouldn't be following them, Kiran picked up the injured man and called for Takro and Kouta to follow him. As the group made their way down the corridor, Tarko handed him his tanto and the woman began taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Thank... heavens... you two showed up... when you did. I wasn't looking forward to being some kind of ape slave for the rest of my life. What the hell is going on?! And where is Sarnaes?"

Kiran kept moving, focussing on the path ahead of them.

"Look, all you need to know right now is that my name is Kiran and I was hired to keep Tarko safe while he was exploring. We can talk about everything else later. Right now we need to hide and figure out how we're getting out of here. You need to calm down and be quiet, ok?"

The woman frowned and was about to raise her voice but Tarko nudged her while shaking his head.

"He's a bit of a gripe lass. Best to do what he says for now. However Kiran, she does ask a good question. Where is Sarnaes? Why is he not with us?"

Kiran sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand.

"I wasn't able to get him in time. He's being taken to the portal room right now, wherever that is."

Tarko frowned and suddenly stopped in place.

"Well, turn around then! We're not leaving him behind!"

_You've got to be kidding me._

"Tarko, this is a very, very bad time to stop. I made a lot of noise and other apes are probably heading to this area as we speak. We need to find a place to hide first, alright? THEN we can discuss Sarnaes."

With a fierce glare, Tarko shook his head.

"Fine. We can tend to Gauius and then get Sarnaes. The wound on his head is severe and from what I can see, they managed to cut into the bone. It seems like he may be suffering from a concussion or worse. He'll most likely need stitches for this. You brought some medical supplies, right lad?"

"I have a few bandages and I can patch him up. Let's get back up to the second floor and I promise we'll take care of him."

The group moved to the end of the hallway and Kiran made sure it was clear. Miraculously, the main hall was absent of any apes. Behind them, Kiran could hear the sound of apes shouting and stomping through the hall. With the path ahead clear, they darted across the main hall and found a set of stairs in another hallway that led to the second floor. Once there, they found a secluded and empty room to take a momentary rest in. Kiran shut the door and wedged it shut with a kunai under the bottom edge. He knelt down next to Gaius and pulled out some ointment and bandages from the pouch on his waist.

"Do any of you know basic first aid?"

He was met with no and definitely no. Awesome.

"Alright. I'll take care of Gaius. The two of you can keep an eye on the door while I'm patching him up. We probably don't have too much time before they figure out where we are. If you hear any commotion coming from the hallway let me know. Ok?"

Tarko and the woman responded yes and began to talk amongst themselves. Kiran looked back at Gaius and analyzed the gash on his forehead. It was fairly deep and ran from his right temple all the way to the middle of his cheek. The bleeding had slowed, but to fully stop it would require time and pressure. He took his canteen and washed it out with water, clearing large globs of blood out of the wound. Then he used some disinfectant ointment that he had and rubbed it into the wound, which would serve as a tool to help the wound congeal and heal better. He gently lifted up Gaius's head and pulled out a small needle and thread. He carefully stitched the wound to a close and cut the string. He then set a pad over the wound and wrapped a roll of cloth around his head several times. Satisfied, he cut the cloth and taped the end in place, preventing it from unraveling. He then set Gaius down and used more of his water to clean his hands. Satisfied, he stood up and addressed the group.

"Alright Tarko, Gaius should be fine for now. How are you two holding up?"

Tarko looked up from his conversation and stroked his beard, with a small glare being aimed at Kiran.

"Fine. Although I'm surprised ya care since ya decided to abandon me friend like ya did."

Kouta frowned, although she glared at Tarko instead of Kiran.

"You may be fine Tarko, but I'm not. Sarnaes is missing, Gaius is hurt, and I was almost killed by some freaky ape!"

Tarko sighed sadly and put a hand on Kouta's shoulder, attempting to calm her down.

"Look lass, I know ya have been through a lot, but we always make it through these sorts of things. We're going to rescue Sarnaes, don't ya worry. It would leave me feelin' sick if we left him behind. I don't know what the apes have planned for him, but it can't be good. Kiran here is going to help us save him from that fate."

Kiran held back a heavy sigh. He wasn't thinking the same.

"Tarko, Kouta, I'm going to put this out here plainly. I don't think it would be good for us to go after Sarnaes. It's going to be hard enough as it is to get both you and Gaius out of here safely, I can't imagine adding a rescue into it as well. It would be too dangerous for any of us to go after him."

Kouta looked indignant while Tarko grew still.

"What do you mean not a good idea?! Of course it is! He's part of our family and we won't leave him here! Tarko, tell him!"

Tarko looked up at Kiran and tried to speak, his anger apparent as he forced his words to come out slow and calculated.

"We can't just abandon him lad. Surely you're not serious about leaving him?"

Kiran felt a vein throb in his head. Why didn't they understand the situation?

"I can't. If we go after him, it will put you all in danger. I can't leave you and I can't keep you safe if we're also saving Sarnaes. I don't really see any alternative here."

Tarko shook his head in disbelief and lashed out in a verbal rage.

"Are ya serious?! I don't care if we have to go through hell and back, we're going to save Sarnaes! I paid you to do that, so that's what we're going to do! If yer so worried about us, leave us here. We can take care of ourselves."

Kiran gave him a skeptical look. If the apes found them while he was gone, there was no way they would survive.

"Yeah, that kind of mentality is only going to get you killed. You can't defend yourselves against these brutes. The fact that your friends were caught so easily is proof of that."

Tarko's face became bright red as he sputtered and struggled to find the right words to respond. Kouta came up to him and calmed him down with a gentle touch and soft words. Tarko was quiet for several seconds, deep in thought, before he spoke again.

"Well, if you're sure we can't defend ourselves, why don't you create a diversion? We'll sneak out and you can go save Sarnaes."

Kiran shook his head.

"I don't think that's going to work. I'm pretty sure the apes won't let of the killers of several of their friends escape so easily. They'll want vengeance on all of us."

Tarko crossed his arms and stared Kiran down.

"Well lad, the fact is that we're not leaving without Sarnaes. Obviously we can't do it alone, so ya have two choices. Take us with you to save Sarnaes or create a distraction for us and then save him. It's your choice lad."

Kiran sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. This is why he hated working with people that let their emotions override their common sense. Tarko was really testing the limits of his patience and he was being put into a corner without any good options.

"Give me a second to think."

_At this point I'm facing a bad and worse scenario. I've got a group of people to protect and a man to rescue. If I made a distraction for the group here, I'd have to clear the main arch and the surrounding area. If I can attract enough attention, I guess they could make it out safely. But what about the apes that are in the town and at the entrance? Would they be able to navigate through the area without being seen?_

"Kouta, Tarko, do you think you'd be able to sneak past the apes outside of the temple grounds?"

Kouta glanced at Tarko but nodded in affirmation.

"I think we could. The visibility is low enough that as long as we stick to the shadows we shouldn't be seen. We've navigated in a similar kind of conditions before."

Tarko nodded slowly, his arms still crossed.

"I agree. We should be fine sneaking out. What do you have in mind Kiran?"

Kiran sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He noticed that it was damp and sticky from a mixture of sweat and blood.

"Well, if I can attract the attention of the apes at the gate and lead them back into the temple, you should be able to get off of the temple grounds. The only issue is that I may not cause every ape to chase after me. It's risky but it's the only thing I can think of. If you get caught the apes might tear you to shreds."

Kouta looked scared at the mention of the apes, but took a breath and looked to Tarko for support. Tarko gave Kiran a cheeky grin.

"Hah! That would be perfect! I'm a master of stealth, and this would free you up to go after Sarnaes, yes?"

Kiran internally frowned but nodded. He was putting his charge in a position to die or worse by leaving them by themselves. A ball formed in his chest, tightening around his heart. He may not like Tarko, but he wouldn't want any of these people to die because of his mistake. Understanding that this was the best chance for success, Kiran pulled out two kunai and handed them to Tarko.

"Just aim for a vital point and stab. These should go through any thin armor. If the enemy is heavily armored, just go for their face or neck. The apes seem to not protect those areas very well."

Tarko and Kouta gave their weapons a few practice swings while Kiran reflected on how he would find Sarnaes. He watched as the two swung the weapons without skill or grace and the knot in his chest grew larger as he realized that someone would probably die tonight. Shaking his head, Kiran recalled that the apes were talking about a portal room.

"Tarko, do you have any idea where the portal room might be? One of the apes mentioned that would be where they were taking Sarnaes."

"Portal room… portal room.. I bet ya that it's the large room we were in earlier. Do ya remember the room with all those crystals placed along the walls? If I remember correctly, there was some kind of pattern etched into the floor and ceiling. Now that I think of it, the book on the pedestal had some type of drawing of a swirling mass, along with a fancy mathematical equation. If it was anywhere in the temple, I'd put me money on that room."

Kiran nodded in agreement.

"That would make sense. If it was the room they were using, it would have to be large enough to fit all of the apes. For a teleporter… they would need a massive amount of power to do what I'm assuming is a type of space time jutsu. I remember a large amount of chakra being emitted from the crystals, so it must be there.

"Well lad, it looks like we have a plan. Don't you worry about us though, we'll be fine. You focus on getting Sarnaes and making it out alive, eh?"

Tarko grinned and held out his hand, but Kiran begrudgingly ignored it. He really didn't want to go along with this, but they weren't giving him a choice. As Tarko pulled back his hand with a small frown, Kiran could hear the sound of footsteps down the hall. He motioned for the others to be quiet and watched under the door as a light from the hall creeped in. Apes in the hall began to talk among themselves and Kiran grabbed the kunai that he had used to wedge the door.

"Find them! I don't care if we have to turn over every single stone in this place, FIND THEM! And when you do, don't leave any of them alive! Kill them all! These bastards will pay for what they've done!

The sounds of doors being slammed open and apes shuffling around echoed in the hall. Kiran pocketed his kunai and took a deep calming breath.

"Looks like this is a good time for me to leave. I'll lead the apes outside away from here. After I'm gone, you should try to get to a room that has a good view of the courtyard. From there you can make a decision on when to leave. Good luck, you two. Be careful."

_You'll need all the luck you can get._

Tarko and Kouta said nodded and stepped back from the door, hiding in the shadows where Gaius was laying. Kiran set his ear against the door and listened, making sure the apes were away from the door. Guessing that they were, he steeled himself and opened the door quietly. He stood out in the hallway, and closed the door. The apes were frantically going from door to door and had not noticed him yet. He coughed just loud enough for the one standing in the hall to hear him. The ape turned and stared at Kiran for a second, before pointing, yelling, and drawing his weapon.

"There's one of the murderers! Don't let him escape, kill him! Daru, alert the others!"

Kiran yawned, pulling his arms back behind to stretch and looked at the ape with a casual demeanor.

"Good luck with that. You'll have to catch me first you stupid apes."

With a roar, the ape surged forward, charging down the hall with thunderous steps. Kiran turned and ran, just as others joined the first and began pursuing him. Kiran was faster than them, so he kept his pace fast enough to stay ahead but slow enough to stay within their view. He darted past rooms and windows, searching for another set of stairs or a balcony he could use to jump down to the first floor. He stopped at an intersection to look down each path. Another patrol was walking his way in the left path. They stared at him in surprise before sprinting forwards in a blind rage. Grumbling to himself, he took off down the empty hall to his right, hoping to find some kind of exit. He suddenly realized, however that this path led to a dead end, and he came to a halt next to a large window. He looked through it and saw the courtyard down below. The apes chasing him were only a few moments away, so thinking fast, he flashed through three hand signs.

_Wind Release: Breakthrough!_

Kiran inhaled a deep breath of air and exhaled towards the window. A strong wind flew out of his lips, slamming into it and for a moment, it stood against the gale before shattering outwards in an explosion of glass. He hopped up to the windowsill and jumped out of the window, just as an ape ran up and slashed right where his head had been. Kiran fell swiftly, landed on the ground and rolled, quickly getting back to his feet. The ape above cursed and threw his sword down at Kiran, who easily stepped out of the way. The ape punched the wall in anger before disappearing back into the building. In the courtyard were several apes who had been alerted by the sound of shattering glass. Some of them started to run towards Kiran while others went to alert others. The apes running towards him drew their weapons as Kiran once again began running. He headed back towards the entrance of the temple and made sure to pass by the archway that Tarko and Kouta would escape from.

By now, he had attracted a large amount of attention and apes from all over the compound began to run in his direction. The few that were at the arch gave chase, and arrows began to fly at him from various directions. With careful steps he avoided the missiles and re-entered the temple through the front entrance. Inside, more apes were emerging from various rooms and corridors in the temple and joined the chase once they saw Kiran darting past them. Kiran leapt up and over tables while knocking over chairs to slow down his pursuers. His distraction was a success, so now he needed to focus on finding the portal room.

_So far so good, but how am I going to find the portal room? I can't just wander around aimlessly and I don't remember where it was either._

The sound of bows being drawn startled Kiran and he saw some apes drawing bows on the balconies of the second floor. He pulled out a kunai with his finger, twirling it a few times as he prepared to defend himself. As arrows shot towards him, he jumped, twisted backwards and knocked away an arrow with a diagonal slash. Other arrows missed their mark and hit the ground with loud clangs. Kiran landed, did a reverse somersault and turned back around, continuing his run. He ducked under a table as more arrows pelted the floor around him. With the moment of respite, he came up with an idea and grabbed the table, using it as an impromptu shield from the arrows. He made a break for the nearest hall, leaving the table behind when he was out of range.

With a few apes behind him in view, he turned a corner sharply and broke the line of sight. He stopped and quickly put a henge on himself, disguising as another ape. He let out a loud yell and pretended to fall, sitting with his back against the wall. Several apes turned the corner and ran up to him, breathing heavily.

"Hey, you! Did you see the hairless ape anywhere near here?!"

Kiran rubbed his head and groaned.

"Eugh… the portal... He's headed to the portal! He said he was going to stop it!"

The apes standing around him recoiled in shock and growled.

"I knew they should have been killed when we had the chance! Letting them live has only been a bad decision! Why do we put our trust in those stupid mages anyway?!"

Another ape elbowed the one that talked in the side.

"Shut up! You can't question their authority. The commander will gut you if he hears you talking like that!"

The first ape growled in return but relented. The second attempted to help Kiran up by extending his hand. Kiran shook his head and slowly stood up himself.

"No need. I'll be fine. We have to stop him before it's too late!"

All of the apes nodded.

"Right! Stick with us, we'll kill him before he can get his filthy hands on Ogmhan's Tome or the crystals! Do you have a weapon?"

Kiran shook his head again.

"He took my sword when he attacked me."

"Alright then, take this dagger. It's not much but it will have to do. Let's go!"

The apes began to run off and Kiran followed right behind them, the tension inside of him melting away.

_Thank goodness that worked, I can't believe these guys are so dumb! They're taking me right to Sarnaes now and all I need to do is get him and leave._

After a few minutes of navigating through several hallways, the group came up to the room that Kiran had explored with Tarko earlier that day. They apes and Kiran stepped inside and began scanning the area, searching for him. Kiran played along and took in his surroundings, happy that there didn't seem to be many soldiers in the room. There were however mages that circled the room, standing next to the dark crystals on the walls as they chanted in some kind of guttural tongue. They were focused, channeling energy from the crystals into a swirling mass of purple energy in the center of the room. Kiran could feel a thick blanket of chakra in the air and in the center of it all stood the ape commander, who was about as tall as three apes. Next to him was a very old and robed ape that was quietly murmuring to himself while holding the book that had been on the pedestal. Kiran ignored them and began to look for Sarnaes, only to be confused when he couldn't find him. He continued to search, making a quick note of the exits, of which there were only three. There weren't any windows in this room and there were three doors that were relatively small, limiting his escape options.

_Well, where the heck is Sarnaes? He should be here somewhere, isn't this where he was being taken?_

Kiran needed to get a better view and started to make his way towards the center of the room. The apes that he had been with before were also headed that way, most likely wanting to let the commander know that the portal was in danger. As he drew closer, the old ape suddenly stopped chanting and stood up straight. The commander, with his arms crossed, looked over towards him curiously. The mage whispered something Kiran couldn't hear and the commander took the book from him. Then, the old ape held out his arms and spoke.

"Someone who does not belong is within our midst! Fear not my children, I will reveal to you the intruder!"

_Uh oh. That's not part of the plan._

With a flourish of his arms, the old ape released a large wave of chakra that passed over everyone in the room, including himself. The illusion that he had faded away, revealing his identity. Realizing he was now in trouble, Kiran drew his tanto and readied himself for a fight. The commander drew his massive broadsword with his left hand and gave the book back to the mage. The mage gave the commander a sly smile.

"Well, I'm surprised they decided to come back for their friend. Although he's much too late, I admire his courage. Foolish, but admirable."

Kiran's heart dropped. Was Sarnaes already dead? The mage, seeing his confusion and hesitation, laughed quietly and pointed at Kiran.

"Your friend has already been harvested for his energy. You also seem to have a great deal of energy, so I will grace you with the opportunity to serve a greater purpose than yourself. Bardrum, I trust you will take care of this, although please try not to kill him, I would hate to lose such a wonderful source of energy. I'll even help by blocking the exits for you."

With a wave of his hand the exits were covered in the barrier that shimmered like the one surrounding the temple. Bardrum growled and tightened the grip on his weapon.

"I'm not promising you anything Garda. If this whelp wishes so badly to die, I will grant him a swift death. Finish making the portal Garda, I've had enough of your delays."

The commander then addressed the rest of the soldiers that were about to join the fight.

"The rest of you stay back! This one is mine."

Kiran was shaken when he realized that Sarnaes was somehow already dead. The commander pounded his chest with his free hand and stood, letting out an ear shattering roar. The ape sprinted towards Kiran and swung his sword down in a vertical slice but he nimbly sidestepped the attack. The ground where the sword struck cracked and splintered, sending large chunks of dirt into the air.

Focus Kiran! This is not the time to be distracted! This guy is way stronger than he looks!

Kiran looked up and met the eyes of the commander, just as he was pulling his sword back. Taking advantage of his recovery time, Kiran jumped up, landed on Bardrum's shoulder with his feet planted firmly down and stabbed his tanto towards his right eye. Bardrum grunted in surprise and jerked his head to the left, saving his eye but causing the sword to leave a gash along the side of his head. Enraged, he attempted to grab Kiran with his right hand, but Kiran pushed off of his shoulder and did a backwards flip, landing on the ground in front of Bardrum. Kiran then grabbed a smoke pellet and threw it at his feet, just as Bardrum was swinging his fist at him. Bardrum missed his initial strike and swung a few more times into the smoke, hoping to score a lucky hit on the human. Hitting nothing, he growled and called out a challenge.

"Fight me like a warrior you coward! Stop hiding and face me or- !"

Kiran met the challenge when he suddenly jumped onto the commander's chest. He used chakra in his feet to stick to him and swung his sword at the commander's throat, slashing straight through the front quarter of his neck. Bardrum fell to his knees and coughed, gurgling as blood flowed from the wound. Kiran jumped off of his chest and did a backwards flip and then ran past the commander towards the mage.

_I'll have to break his concentration to get out of here, he's the one controlling the barriers!_

He ran directly at the mage and was about to swing his tanto when the mage turned and thrusted his palm towards Kiran. Reacting quickly, Kiran knocked the hand away with his left hand. Instead of hitting Kiran, the attack from the mage sent out a large wave of energy that shot up to the ceiling and exploded, sending chunks of brick crashing to the floor. With the mage off balance, Kiran shifted forward and used his right hand to knock the book out of his hands. Kiran pushed past the mage, knocking him to the floor and grabbed the book. Before he could begin his mad dash out of the room, Garda screeched in anger and stood back up. He let the dark power in the room swirl around him, causing his hair and robes to ripple from the energy.

"HOW DARE YOU! I was going to let you die a quick death but that clearly isn't what you deserve! I want a mage and soldiers at each door! HE WILL NOT ESCAPE!

A few of the mages jumped down from their positions on the wall and stood right outside of the doors. With a dark chant, the barrier that had fallen reappeared at each exit. Groups of soldiers ran to guard each door, adding a second obstacle in Kiran's path. Garda himself channeled energy into Bardrum who was struggling to keep himself kneeling. He roared in agony as energy poured into his body and his veins began glowing with a strange purple hue. After a few moments of gasping for air he slowly stood, revealing that the gash on his neck gone and his fangs were longer, slightly cutting into his own skin. His eyes were beginning to lose their color, changing from a dark green to a dark purple. He spoke, his voice filled feral and guttural growl.

"**I can't stand that I need you to help me with this whelp, but with this power I'll crush him into a bloody paste. Prepare to die vermin.**"

_What the hell is going on!?_

Kiran took a few steps backwards as Bardrum grabbed his sword. With a speed that Kiran did not expect, the ape ran across the room and attacked him. The ape slashed at Kiran with a horizontal slice, which Kiran was barely able to duck under. He then followed with a full spin, sweeping his sword across the ground. Kiran jumped up and backwards, barely dodging the blade and threw a kunai towards Bardrum's face. Bardrum simply let the kunai imbed itself into his temple and spun again, this time swinging his sword directly at Kiran. Caught in the air, Kiran raised up his arm guard and strengthened his limbs with chakra as he prepared for impact. The sword smashed into his side, completely knocking the wind out of Kiran as he was sent hurtling across the room. He hit the ground hard, rolling a few times before standing back on his feet. The momentum caused him to slide back several feet on the ground. He took a moment to take stock of himself. He had a gash in his arm that was bleeding as the brace he wore was almost shorn in two. He undid the straps and let the broken metal fall to the ground, a grimace on his face. He had lost his tanto and the book during the attack and was shaking as his body was recovering from the shock of the blow.

_Thank goodness I blocked that, I would have died if I had missed. How am I going to fight against him and what the hell kind of chakra is that? This is turning bad fast and if I'm going to beat his speed I'll need to drop my weights._

Bardrum let out a laugh and pointed his sword at Kiran.

"**I can see the fear in your face whelp. Why don't you make this easy and just let me kill you now? It would save us both the trouble**."

Kiran quickly undid the straps for his weights and released them onto the ground. They each hit the ground with a loud thud that left imprints in the ground. Bardrum looked unimpressed and once again charged, his eyes now fully purple. The kunai that had been in his skin a moment ago had been pulled out, and the wound was slowly healing. Bardrum once again slashed at Kiran, who ducked under the swipe and ran straight towards him. Bardrum let go of his sword and pulled out a dagger with his opposite hand, holding it in a reverse grip as he plunged it downwards. Kiran pivoted left, dodging the attack and stabbed a kunai into Bardrums wrist. Bardrum then attempted to backhand Kiran, but he dodged with a quick back handspring. Once he had moved several feet away, Kiran made the snake hand seal. The kunai in Bardrum's wrist had a tag that sizzled and exploded, separating his hand from his arm. Bardrum screamed in agony, holding the stump with his right hand. He took a few steps backwards and glared at Kiran, taking deep gasping breaths. Although completely severed, the stump was slowly beginning to regenerate, as bone and sinew began to restructure itself into a hand.

_He's regenerating too!? This is ridiculous! I need to get out of here or end the fight now, the longer this goes on the worse off I am. He's tougher and almost as fast as me, so I'll have to make use of the opportunity I have now. I can't let up for a second!_

Kiran drew another kunai and charged forwards, beginning his onslaught on an injured Bardrum. He dodged a slash from Bardrum's knife and slid under his legs, turning and cutting the back of Bardrum's right knee. Bardrum dropped down to one knee with a pained cry and turned, desperately swinging his fist at Kiran. He easily dodged the attack and flashed through four hand signs.

_Wind Release: Vacuum!_

A small bubble of wind surrounded Bardrum's head. He coughed, suddenly realizing that he couldn't breath. He clawed at the air, desperately trying to get air back into his lungs. Kiran stood next to him, concentrating hard on keeping the jutsu intact. Bardrum was slowly beginning to stoop over as he began to lose consciousness. Kiran let his shoulders relax a bit and was relieved, seeing that his jutsu was working.

Suddenly, Kiran was blasted away by a wave of energy that came from his left. He hit the ground and tumbled over himself as he skidded across the ground for several feet. His jutsu disappeared in an instant, letting Bardrum regain his breath. Kiran stood slowly, wiping away the blood that began to trickle down the cut on his forehead and tried to regain his bearings. He was frustrated that his jutsu had been interrupted, but didn't let his anger ruin his focus. Across from him, Bardrum was standing up again, with Garda shaking his head next to him.

"Must I do everything Bardrum? We must end this nuisance quickly! Without my guidance, the energy for the portal is starting to become unstable!"

The energy that had accumulated in the room was starting to swirl erratically, searching for a place to release the built up tension. Kiran noticed that a few strands of energy were trickling towards the book that was on the ground. Before he could think further, spikes of earth began to erupt from the ground and shoot through the air towards him. He began rolling and jumping out of the way as the spikes embedded themselves into the ground and wall behind him. Bardrum was once again running towards him, sword in tow. Kiran saw his tanto and made his way over to it and picked it up, just in time to deflect an upwards swipe from Bardrum's sword. As he deflected the blade, sparks erupted from the metal, showering him in hot metal shards and chipping the tanto's sharp edge. Bardrum swung his sword again, this time in a diagonal slice downwards. Kiran jumped up and over the swipe, doing a forward flip as he landed on Bardrum's shoulder. He used him as a springboard and vaulted up while throwing another kunai with a paper bomb at Bardrum, releasing the tag as it was passing his face. Another explosion rocked the air, leaving Bardrum clutching at his eyes in pain.

Kiran landed on the ground with a roll as Bardrum fell backwards onto the ground. As he stood his, a spike erupted underneath him. Kiran twisted to the side, avoiding being impaled, but the attack penetrated directly into his left thigh. He clenched his teeth and kicked the spike with his free leg, releasing it and then rolled, barely dodging the next spike that was sent his way. He threw another smoke pellet onto the ground and then pulled the spike out of his leg, grimacing as he did so. Blood began to flood down his leg and Kiran grimaced as he tested it quickly on the ground. Shaking his head, he dropped a scroll from his pouch onto the ground and with the cover of the smoke he unsealed it, revealing a small wooden log. He took another quick look at his leg to make sure it was still functioning

_Shit, he cut my leg really deep. I can barely stand on it now and it hurts like hell. This isn't good._

Kiran used his good leg to jump out of the smoke, blood staining the ground as he continued to roll and dodge as more pillars attempted to gut him. Struggling to keep up with the barrage, he pulled out three shuriken from his pouch with his right hand and threw them at Garda. To defend himself, Garda summoned forth a small wall of earth in front of him. The shuriken were stopped, embedding themselves into the earth and Kiran used the opportunity to run forward despite the pain and smash through the wall with a solid left punch. Garda looked shocked as Kiran swung his right fist into Garda's face and sent him sprawling. Kiran slipped on some of the loose earth and set his weight down on his injured leg and stumbled, allowing Garda cast another shockwave that hit Kiran in the gut. He was knocked off his feet and flung into the wall on the opposite side of the room, hitting it with a loud resounding thud. He lost his grip on his tanto as he fell to the floor, barely managing to shift his weight over and kneel as he held one arm across his stomach. He coughed, trying to regain his ability to breath properly and Garda walked forwards, his nose now bloody, while Bardrum was recovering from having his face blown off. Garda charged himself with the same energy that Bardrum had, causing his eyes to glow a dark purple.

"Well, now that we are done playing, I'm going to kill you. I have to say, you were more formidable than I gave you credit for. Unfortunately for you, we have the power of the dark crystals to strengthen us. Before I kill you, do you have any last words?"

Kiran looked up at him and then at the book that lay on the ground close to him, desperately trying to think of a plan. The exits were blocked and he wouldn't be able to escape with Garda focusing on him. Shaking, he stood up on uneasy legs and settled into a fighting stance. He had an idea, but he didn't know if it would work. He eyed the swirling mass of energy behind Garda as it was sending more and more trickles of power into the book. He gave a cocky smile before throwing a kunai with his last paper bomb at Garda.

"Yeah, I'm going to kick your ass you stupid ape!"

Garda formed a shield around himself as the kunai exploded in front of him, and Kiran used the distraction to dash towards the book. He picked it up, just as Garda began to assault him with more magical attacks. Kiran dodged a wave of energy and sent chakra flowing through his arm and threw it as hard as he could towards the swirling mass of energy. After he threw it he flashed through a few hand signs.

"No! The tome can't interact with the energy yet! It's not ready!"

Garda sent a shockwave out to intercept the tome, but Kiran had already finished his jutsu.

_Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!_

The gust of wind beat the shockwave and hit the book, propelling it directly into the swirling mass. The tome floated for a moment, pages flipping frantically, as the energy began to be absorbed into it. Sparks and electricity began to shoot throughout the room and the other apes screamed and began to flee. Some of the soldiers weren't so lucky as they were struck down by bolts of lightning. The mages that had been blocking the doors released their barriers as they also tried to escape. The tome began to disappear as a bright light was emitted from the center, engulfing the room in a white hue. Garda stomped toward Kiran, unbridled rage in his eyes. He tried to impale Kiran with another spike, but Kiran deflected it with his fist. He sent a shockwave toward Kiran but he stepped to the side, dodging it. Garda walked up and stood directly in front of Kiran and put his hand on his chest, sending a spike of earth directly through him. Garda grinned triumphantly before Kiran exploded into smoke, a wooden log in his place. Garda spun around, only to be met with kunai stabbing directly into his heart and then another impaling him in the head. Mortified, Garda grabbed at the kunai, whispering quiet words to himself as he fell over. Kiran grabbed his leg and fell to one knee, hoping to stop the blood gushing out of his wound.

Kiran inhaled sharply at the pain his leg was in, but he was glad that he thought to prepare the log earlier. The substitution had absolutely saved his butt from dying. He was about to stand back up and make his way to safety when the portal shook the room, causing him to fall back to the ground. The light began to intensify, shining so bright that it blinded him momentarily. Kiran raised his hands over his eyes and felt a pulling sensation on his entire body. He tried to grab onto something or to stick to the floor with chakra, but to no avail. He felt himself go weightless as the light flashed once more, before dissipating, leaving behind a room full of panicking apes. Kiran, however, was nowhere to be seen, having disappeared with the light. His tanto was all that remained, the metal glinting in the dim light of the purple crystals.

* * *

Hey guys! I'm happy to finally release this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing out my first fight scene and I can't wait for the next chapter! I know this one is long, but I hope you were able to enjoy it. I'll be taking a bit longer to work out the next chapter, so I'll be releasing it on Saturday, March 7th. In the meantime, please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone! It's been a while, but I'm happy to release the chapter on time! I had a rough time this month because my wife and I were in a pretty serious car crash, but thankfully no one was injured. I'm excited because we finally get to meet another main character, so I hope you all enjoy the chapter! I plan on releasing the next chapter a month from now on April 4th, so until then, ciao!

**Chapter 5**

Shimmer lay quietly in her bed, trying to enjoy the last few minutes of sleep she had before her day began. As the sun crept up to her bed, she basked in its warmth as she opened her eyes. Groggily, she untangled herself from her blankets and and yawned, shaking her head to help chase the sleep away. She unfurled her wings and stretched, arching her back much like a cat. Although the sun was shining, she loathed getting out from her warm bed knowing that she would have to face the cold air outside. She shook her head and let go over her covers, sending a small shiver down her back.

Feeling a bit more awake, she slinked off of her cushion and walked out of her bedroom, grabbing a small bucket by the handle with her mouth before making her way outside to an old water pump. She set the bucket under the faucet and stood on her hind legs, wrapping her paws around the lever. It creaked as she pulled and pushed, slowly spilling out clean water. When the bucket was close to full she stopped and picked it up before heading back inside. She went into her small dining room and poured some of the water into a bowl. After this she made her way to her washroom and spent a few minutes preparing for the morning. After cleaning her teeth and checking over her wings, she finished her routine by emerging her head in cold water to clean her face and when she emerged she felt fresh and fully awake. Shimmer looked herself over in a small mirror and scrutinized her azure scales, lighter blue underbelly and two white horns that pointed backwards on her head. She grimaced when she saw the state she was in.

"I really need to find the time to properly clean my scales. All this work is wearing them down and that's not good for them. Maybe I can do that later this week, I should have some free time then."

Feeling somewhat ready for the day, she walked back into the small dining room next to her bedroom and grabbed a few small sticks of meat along with the bowl of water. She quickly ate her breakfast and placed a few more pieces of meat into a small metal container that had been sitting on the counter. She also filled a waterskin with the remaining water from her bucket and placed both items into a sling that she placed between the joints of her wings. It hung loosely around her side and chest, leaving her enough space to maneuver comfortably. She then grabbed a large green scarf that was on a hook by her door and wrapped it around her neck, relishing the soft and warm cotton. Humming to herself, she walked out of her house and locked the wooden door with a key that her parents kept hidden in a hollow block above the door.

"I wonder if Solstice will be in town today, we haven't spent much time together lately. I'll see what she's up to if I bump into her. Maybe I can convince her to get her scales polished with me, I'm sure she would love to do that."

As Shimmer made her way into town, she reflected over her life as it currently was. She lived with her parents in a small house near an outpost in the Whisperglade Forest. Her dad had made the house out of earth, using his magic to manipulate and strengthen the earth into a suitable shape. It was surprisingly warm and had a few glass windows along with wooden front and back doors and it even had a small fireplace that they would gather around to tell stories or spend time together. The outpost they lived by was named Silverbark and was a hub designed for gathering resources that fed the ongoing work being done in Warfang. A lot of progress had been made in Warfang since the war, but there were still sections of the city that were being refurbished. This particular outpost had a logging company as well as a hunter guild that made up a large portion of the population. Shimmer herself was a hand for hire, using her various skills to do whatever odd jobs she could get. It wasn't the most luxurious work, but she was saving up money to move into the city. Her goal was to move to the city for two reasons, the first being that there was an opportunity for her to find better work and the second was that she would be able to begin her journey towards joining the dragon guard. The dragon guard helped to keep law and order in the dragon realms and had been instrumental in the many skirmishes that occured after the great calamity.

Currently the dragon guard was being led by the guardians. Terrador, Cyril and Volteer were holding the position of Earth, Ice and Lightning guardian. Spyro was temporarily filling the role of the Fire guardian until a proper replacement could be found and Cynder was also considered a guardian, although she wasn't as popular as the others. She was recognized as the wind guardian, despite the fact that she was unique like Spryo and commanded several elements. Even though her past weighed heavily on the minds of many, she was the best candidate to fill the role and had worked solidify her character as a hero in the years after the war.

For Shimmer, the path to becoming a member in the guard would be very difficult. Those who were interested in the role would compete in yearly competitions in Warfang that would determine who had the potential to become a recruit. If you weren't one of the top finishers of the tournament but showed promise or talent, there was a chance that the guardians would take special interest in you and take you on as an apprentice. Although inexperienced in fighting, Shimmer was confident that she could prove that she was skilled enough with her ice and that she would gain the favor of Cyril or one of the guardians. The first step to that however would be moving and she was very close to having enough funds to buy a small property inside of the city..

Shimmer brimmed with excitement at the thought of learning under Cyril and dashed towards the center of town, weaving her way past the dragons, moles, cheetahs and a few apes that were already up and about. As she passed by an ape, she frowned to herself as she looked back at their history. At the end of the war, with Gaul dead and Malefor sealed away, the apes split into separate factions with different ideals and goals. Most of the groups still desired to wipe out the dragons and rule, but there were a few that had rebelled and sought peace with the other races. The factions that sided with Malefor did not last long without proper leadership and were routed by the Guardians and the combined armies of the moles and cheetahs. Any apes that were not killed in the skirmishes were banished to Dante's freezer, a cold and unforgiving landscape that existed across the ocean.

Once peace had settled into the land, Spyro and the Guardians had worked tirelessly to restore order to the Dragon Realms and constructed a new government that had a council with representatives from each race, although the guardians had the final say in any topic that was discussed. After this, Warfang was chosen as the central point for the reconstruction effort and from there wealth and prosperity began to stretch across the land. Eventually, the apes that had sought peace were welcomed into the council, although there were many who were uneasy with them. Despite the fact that there were some apes who had changed and were working towards a better future, Shimmer didn't trust them. Some of the apes committed atrocities during the war and those acts lingered on her mind, her father's missing wing was a shining example of this.

Although the thoughts of joining the guard were nice, Shimmer still had work to do and focussed on her destination, a large wooden building that towered over the rest of the town. A sloped set of stairs and a small granite monument sat in front of the building and on the monument were engravings of the races, each standing tall and proud, representing the forgotten people who had perished during the war. Shimmer hurried up the steps and made her way to the large double doors on the front of the building. As she approached she had to step out of the way when a door swung open and a large cheetah exited the building, not noticing her as he hurried to his next destination. Rolling her eyes and huffing, Shimmer stepped through the doors.

Once inside, she made her way over to a line that spanned the length of the building. Various traders, hunters, craftsmen and bankers were busy with their own business and Shimmer was here for a similar reason. She would be getting a request and fulfilling it for a sum of money. Generally, individuals or companies could request work that would then be given registered as accepted until it had been finished. Shimmer tended to get smaller jobs because she worked as an individual and the guilds would get the larger jobs due to the influence, resources and workers that they had. While working by herself, she was limited by what she could carry and usually stuck to gathering gems or doing odd jobs around town. While waiting for her turn in line, Shimmer began tapping her tail on the floor impatiently until the ape in front of her finally got his job and moved, allowing her to stepp up to the counter that had a small mole behind it. She gave him a quick smile.

"Good morning Vargas. Got anything cool for me?"

The old mole looked up, adjusting his glasses on his nose. He squinted and smiled, revealing his bucked teeth.

"Good morning Shimmer! I'd like to say that I do have a "cool" job for you, but when you arrive so late in the morning I can't save any of them for you. I can give you a choice between hunting or gem gathering though, if you'd like. It's all I have for you today."

Shimmer groaned and put her elbows up on the counter, using her paws to support her head.

"It's not my fault that some dingus decided to make it a normal thing to start the workday so early! Who thought that was a good idea?! We should make it a rule to get up _after_ the sun, not before! Right Vargas?"

Shimmer did her best to give him a pleading look, but he stared back at her while gently re-adjusting his glasses.

"I'm sorry Shimmer, but if you want to do something else, you'll have to get up earlier like everybody else."

Shimmer let out a sigh.

"Alright fine, I'll try to work on getting up earlier. But if I'm up before the sun is out and I miss out on my beauty sleep, I'm blaming you when I turn into some kind of walking zombie."

Vargas smiled and nodded.

"Mhm, I think I can live with that. Now, what would you like to do today?"

Shimmer gave him a fake glare before responding.

"Right. Well, if I have to choose, I guess I'll take the gem gathering. I don't really feel like hunting today. What do I need to get?"

Vargas pulled up a small sheet of paper and stamped it before sliding it to Shimmer.

"The request is for three pounds of healing crystals. When you gather them, bring them back and I'll have your payment ready. If you're heading into the woods, remember to be careful. I've heard a few rumors that wolves are a bit more uppity than usual."

"Yeah yeah, I'll be careful. You don't need to worry about me. Enjoy your morning though!"

Shimmer grabbed the paper and put it into her sling. Giving Vargas a small wave, she made her way through the growing crowds of people and stepped outside. The sun was now shining brightly, making the city just a bit warmer than before, bringing with it a renewed sense of life. The streets were enveloped in the different smells of food as vendors were setting up their stands. Children were running around, playing all sorts of different games and a few guards walked about, keeping an eye out for any troublemakers that would threaten the peace that embraced the town.

Shimmer smiled softly, knowing that this is what many had dreamed of less than a decade ago. When she was young, there had been a constant mindset of fear and dread inside of every dragon. Malefor and his army had been hunting them down one by one and it seemed that it would be only a matter of time before he was able to complete his goal and wipe out the dragon race altogether. However, the two heroes, Spyro and Cynder, had worked together to defeat Malefor seven years ago, bringing a new age of peace to the dragon realms. When the world had been reconstructed, everything changed. Shimmer and other dragons were now able to live out their lives in relative safety instead of hiding, running, or hoping for a better future. Joining the guard would allow her to prevent anyone else from experiencing the same horrors that she had in her childhood.

With her goal for the day set, Shimmer walked to the outskirts of town, heading towards the Whisperglade Forest to the North. Gem hunting was a simple thing to do after Spyro had brought the fragments of the world back together. Fountains of magic had erupted from the earth, causing the natural growth of gems to occur more frequently. Although they were most commonly found in the mountains, one could also find plenty of crystals in other regions as well. In fact, there was a particular cave in the forest that Shimmer had found that had more than enough gems for a few small jobs. She was set as long as no one else had discovered them recently.

As the town thinned out it, she walked through the large front gate and fence that surrounded it and everything was replaced by thick, green trees that towered above Shimmer. Spreading her wings, she took to the air with powerful strokes, flying above the tree line engulfed the town and drifted to her right, heading north into the Whisperglade forest. The forest extended to the northeast for several miles, barely managing to reach the Canis Ocean on the northern part of the continent. In the middle of the woods was lake Qilin that had a small mountain range on the east shore that curved around it. The cave she would be heading to was west of the lake, near a small river that cut through the forest. She had accidentally stumbled upon the cave while doing a job that had her catching a certain type of fish in lake Qilin. Bad weather had struck on her return flight, forcing her to search for shelter and she had stumbled upon the cave because the glowing light of the gems inside had become much more visible with the darkened sky.

Although the air was cold, Shimmer enjoyed the clear skies and wind that blew across her face. Her breaths formed small clouds of mist that passed over her and drifted away into the sky. Settling herself into a glide, she kept herself at a steady pace as the forest passed below her. She fell into a rhythm, letting her thoughts and body relax as she focussed on the beauty surrounding her. The bright blue sky contrasted with the earthy greens and browns that spotted the world below. In the forest, she could see different creatures, some of which darted into the foliage as her shadow passed over them. The mountains to her east stood with an imposing figure, casting dark shadows onto the land and lake below. On the opposite side of lake Qilin, a large waterfall fell down from the mountains and created a fine mist that concealed the water below. Shimmer always appreciated the rainbows that would often form as the mist reflected the sunlight. With plenty to take in, Shimmer never grew bored on her flights into the forest.

After she had spent around thirty minutes flying, the river that cut through the forest drew closer. In the distance, she could hear the telltale sounds of water splashing against rocks as it flowed downstream. Shimmer angled herself down to slowly glide towards the ground and spent a few minutes searching the area before finding a large slab of stone that barely poked out of the trees. She made a few passes around the cave, checking to make sure nothing dangerous was in the area. Although the world was at peace, there was still natural fauna that could pose a threat to anyone who was travelling alone. Deciding it was safe, she gently flew down to the entrance of the cave and landed, folding her wings back onto her sides. She pulled out a small lantern from her sling and used a knob on the side of it to create a small spark that lit the wick inside. With a decent source of light, Shimmer held the lantern with her mouth and made her way into the cave. The opening was rather large but the cave itself grew smaller the deeper inside she went. It was dark and imposing, but Shimmer had never run into anything dangerous here. There wasn't anything remarkable about this particular cave, aside from the amount of crystals contained within. There must have been a source of magical energy nearby, feeding the growth of crystals and keeping animals away. The founts that sprouted had natural magical energy that few were able to harness. The energy was dangerous in its raw form, and the effects of it were not fully known. Supposedly mages were able to manipulate it for their purposes, but there were only a few that Shimmer had ever heard of. All of them were apes in Malefor's army who were now banished from the land, living out their lives in the desolate wastes.

Shimmer walked deeper into the cave, following along a path of claw marks that she had made when she had first been here. The cave was cool, with jagged rocks that sat on top of each other in thin layers. There was a damp, wet smell and dripping water that slowly dropped down from stalagmites on the roof of the cave. Along the walls were several spots that had hollow depressions with small crystals, showing where there had been large clusters of them. She left a small crystal in each spot to allow them to grow again, even though the process was slow. As she moved forward, she set her lantern down and squeezed herself through a particularly tight spot in the cave. As she squirmed out the other side, Shimmer could see the faint glow of red and green crystals ahead. Smiling to herself, she reached back through the tight spot with her tail and grabbed her lantern, bringing it forward and placing it back in her mouth. She then used her paw to wipe off some of the dirt had caked onto her scales when she squeezed through the gap. Moving forward, she walked beside a gentle curve that turned right, stopping for a moment to make some claw marks on the wall of the cave. As the curve ended, Shimmer was somewhat disappointed to see that the cave actually ended with a large rounded out section that housed what seemed to be the last of the crystals. With a sigh, she moved over to the closest group of red crystals.

"Well that sucks. I thought this cave would have enough for four or five more trips. Looks like there is only enough for one more though. I'll have to find a new stache somewhere while these regenerate."

Shimmer stepped up to the red crystals and set her lantern down before swiping at them with her claws and tail, breaking off pieces of the crystal in large chunks. They fell to the ground with light clinking sounds and it only took her a minute to completely break down the cluster in front of her. Making sure to leave a small piece, she gathered up the shards on the ground and put them into her sling before moving towards the next cluster further back on the wall. As she walked towards it, she noticed that the ground ahead of her was loose, with various rocks forming an unsteady floor.

"That doesn't seem too safe, maybe I should leave it alone. Then again, I'd have to go hunting to find more crystals if I don't get enough here and that would suck. I should be fine as long as I'm careful and don't touch the ground where it's weak, I only need a few more crystals anyway."

Taking extra care not to disrupt the earth, Shimmer tiptoed her way over to the crystal. The ground itself was steady enough, but she dislodged a few small rocks that cluttered as they made their way down further into the ground. Taking a quick steadying breath, she took her first swipe and dislodged a few shards. She sighed in irritation when some of the gems fell into the small cracks and settled between the rocks below her. Frowning, she reached down where some of them had fallen and tried to grasp them with her front paws, but to no avail. Turning around, she lowered her tail into the cracks and used the end of it to wrap around the shards, being careful not to dislodge anything with her tail spike. She then gently raised them up and placed them into her sling, before repeating the process again. She had a bit of trouble with a few of the shards that fell into the cracks and got stuck, but was able to finish the crystal with a little bit of effort.

Moving onto the last crystal she would need, Shimmer proceeded to smash the crystal again, bringing it down to a small piece like the one before. Shards had fallen all over the place and she began the tedious process of gathering them up. She spent over ten minutes wiggling her tail and paws into the tight spots, but was rewarded with enough crystals to satisfy the customer. She was picking up another small shard that was giving her more trouble when a glint of blue from below caught her eye. Perplexed, she moved her head around to see if she could get another glance of it again.

"Is there something down there? What could be making that blue glow?"

Shimmer's heart picked up a bit as she craned her neck further, now knowing for sure it was blue.

"Is it a blue crystal? I've never seen one of them before, those things are beyond rare! I bet I could get a huge amount of money for just a single shard!"

Shimmer twisted her head around and tried to get a better look. While doing so, her front paw slipped and fell into a crack, lodging itself between two or three rocks as the ground shifted beneath her. She tried to pull it back, only to realize that it was stuck.

"Well that's just _wonderful_. Why can't the ground actually work with me here? C'mon."

Keeping herself calm, Shimmer tried using her other paw to lift some rocks around her to put less pressure on the few that had her first paw pinned. She was able to move some, but that didn't seem to loosen the grip that the ground had on her. Once again she tried her best to wiggle free but couldn't.

"Ok, ok, stay calm. Everything is fine. I'm not alone and stuck in a spot that no one can find me in. I'll get out of here in no time, I just need to use my head."

Looking at the rocks once again, Shimmer came up with an idea. She took a deep breath and let out a chilling breath that froze and formed ice on the rocks around her paw. She then pulled as hard as she could, shattering the rocks and sending her flying backwards. As she landed on her back, she heard the rumbling and clattering of rocks under her. Before she could react, the ground below her gave way, sending her tumbling and falling into the dark. She screamed, trying to grab onto something or stop herself, but was taken along with the earth as it tossed her around like a small rock caught in an landslide. After a few moments, she came to a stop, landing roughly on her side and wing. The sounds of rocks falling slowly quieted, and she took a moment to gather herself. A few pebbles bounced off of her head and she wheezed as she caught her breath and waved dust away from her face.

"Ok… That… Sucked…"

Shimmer stood up on shaky legs and took a moment to stretch out each of her limbs. She was thankful to see that nothing felt broken and aside from a few bruises, she would be fine. Above her, the light from the lantern illuminated the space about fifteen feet above her. She sighed before turning to look behind and stopped when she saw the giant blue crystal that covered the alcove in a light blue glow, making her forget about her aching body. She stood, mouth open in amazement at the sight before her. Blue crystals were extremely rare, even with the increased crystal growth after the calamity. From what she understood, these crystals made the elemental power of whoever absorbed them stronger, which is why they were so valuable. To see one that was three to four times her size was crazy. She wasn't sure what would happen if she tried to harvest them, as the other types of crystals usually involved a voluntary draw of power, although that wasn't always how they worked. She had seen dragons who had been healed while unconscious, which meant it could be possible for the blue crystals to be absorbed by accident. But would that really be a bad thing? She wanted to join the guard and would need all the help she could get. Having stronger magic would definitely help her with that, although selling them would help her get to Warfang much faster. Standing up, Shimmer started to pace in a circle, swinging her tail back and forth indecisively.

"What should I do, what should I do? Ugh, I hate getting stuck with hard decisions. Maybe I could leave it and come back? No.. . what if someone else found it? Should I… use it then? Would it be ok for me to do that?"

With her thoughts and heart swirling, Shimmer failed to notice the dark purple crystals that sat in the black shadows of the alcove she was in. They were slowly pulsing with dark energy, occasionally sending out small flickers of light. As she struggled to make a decision, the dark crystals began to glow brighter, gleaming with a menacing purple hue. The energy that was flickering started to flash and condense in the air, near the blue crystal. Shimmer looked up from her internal argument, just as the formation of the swirl of dark energy erupted into a violent mess. She yelped as the walls around her began to shake and sparks of electricity began to shoot out of the mass in front of her. She crouched low, eyes wide and fangs bared as chunks of rock began to be blasted off of the walls by strikes of electricity. One bolt struck the blue crystal, shattering it into hundreds of pieces that landed all around Shimmer. A wind began howling, threatening to pick Shimmer up and toss her across the cave. A familiar feeling washed over her and an icy spear of fear pierced her heart.

_It can't be..!?_

Terrified, Shimmer backed away, memories of the war and devastation from years ago assailing her mind like the waves of dark energy around her. Unable to think, her mind filled with flashes of memories, she began running through the alcove, back to where she had fallen from. As she ran, the chunks of blue crystal that had been shattered stirred, their energy flowing out of them and into Shimmer as she ran. She barely registered the internal surge of energy as she scrambled to get back up to her lantern. Fighting against the wind, she had to claw and scrape her way back up the rough cave wall. Using her wings, she propelled herself forwards, and managed to pull herself over the edge of the hole. Without hesitation, she grabbed her lantern in her mouth and bolted back towards the entrance of the cave. She tossed her lantern through the tight spot and slithered through, just as a massively bright light illuminated the entire space behind her, accompanied with a deafening boom. She didn't bother to look back and dashed away, barely dodging stalagmites that began to fall from above. She looked up and shot out a small blast of ice that hit the ceiling and exploded, freezing several earthy spikes to the roof of the cave before they could fall. Not wasting any time, she took flight as soon as she reached the entrance of the cave. Once she felt that there was enough distance between her and the cave, she braved a look back.

Behind her, there were several trees that had been uprooted or knocked over, probably by the force of whatever had made the ear splitting sound. The cave itself had sunken noticeably, and was much deeper into the ground than it had been before. The malice that she had felt from before was now gone, replaced by a still and eerie silence. Shimmer placed a paw onto her chest and breathed, calming herself down. Whatever had happened back there was now over. She didn't have any reason to be afraid.

"It's ok. It's ok. That wasn't what you thought it was. It was an earthquake… or some kind of cave-in. You're safe."

Shimmer closed her eyes and forced herself to relax. She focussed on the cool wind that blew across her face and the beating of her heart. She grabbed onto her scarf, finding comfort in the soft and warm material. Although she was able to calm her body, Shimmer's mind still raced with thoughts of what she had seen. Thoughts of dragons fighting apes in a bloody brawl, her running away as others around her fell to the ground, the tension she felt as shadows from dreadwings and their riders flew up above, these thoughts burst forth like an open dam. The presence she had felt in the cave reminded her of one specific dragon. Shimmer spat his name out like poison.

"Malefor."

Although he had died in the war, fragments of his reign had remained in Avalar. Shimmer was shocked to discover that dark crystals —crystals that could steal the elemental magic from a dragon —were still hidden away in concealed corners of the world. Whatever had happened in the cave had to have been caused by those cursed crystals. Maybe it was a trap that had been set up to kill any dragon that wandered into the cave? Were there apes that had been able to sneak back onto the mainland? Whatever it could have been, Shimmer was determined never to go back to that cave. It would be better to forget she had ever seen it.

Remembering her sling, Shimmer took a quick glance at the crystals inside. Despite the ordeal, she still had everything she needed for her job. She decided that she would focus on finishing that and then spend some time reflecting on what had happened. The thoughts from before were slowing down, but they were still bubbling just beneath the surface, threatening to cascade through her mind once again. She held back a few tears that were threatening to fall and raced back to her home.

* * *

Kiran had no sense of direction as he felt his entire body being torn apart. The pulling sensation that he had felt before the flash of light had only grown, stretching and pulling him in all directions. His insides felt like they were on fire as some type of foreign energy surged through his chakra coils. He tried to scream, but he was drowned out by the roaring sound of clashing energy, crackling and booming with untamed power. He was stuck in this intense agony for an unknown amount of time, fading in and out of consciousness, when it all suddenly came to a stop.

The first thing Kiran felt was the hard impact of something solid against his back. What remained of his breath was forced out of his lungs and he struggled to fill them with air. Then, he became aware of his sense of weight, realizing he was no longer falling. Or was he floating before? He couldn't tell. He lay motionless, slowly regaining his sense of being as the loud ringing in his ears faded away. His entire body was numb, similar to the feeling one would get when hitting their elbow against a corner. Ignoring his screaming insides, Kiran rolled over to his side and tried to open his eyes. All he could see was black and he froze.

_I can't see… What's going on...? What happened...?_

Kiran rolled onto his stomach and lifted himself to his hands and knees, noting his ragged and coarse breathing. Immediately, his head fell forwards and he puked, his stomach not being able to handle the strain of moving. Coughing and shaking as he cleared the last bits of vomit away from his mouth, he stayed still, trying to ignore the disgusting taste of iron that was assaulting his tongue. He spit a few times and weakly wiped away some of the mess away from his lips with the back of his hand. With a silent desperation, Kiran lifted up his hand in front of him, attempting to gather some chakra. Pain shot up his arm, causing him to fall as he grabbed it in pain.

_I'm all out of chakra and my coils are messed up... What else could possibly go wrong?!_

Alone, hurt and afraid of what was happening to him, Kiran began to cry. Clutching his arm tightly, he lay still, hoping, praying, wishing for something to go right. His leg that was impaled earlier also hurt and he wasn't sure if he would be able to muster the energy to do something about the blood that was dripping down his leg. This was not what he had envisioned when he had been given this escort mission. Nothing could have prepared him for this and all he wanted to do was go home. He thought about what had gone wrong and the steps that had led to the situation he was in. A short, grinning, blond haired man came to his mind.

_Tarko. This is all __**his**_ _fault! If he had just listened to me in the first place, none of this would have happened! I KNEW there was something wrong and he ignored me! He was too infatuated with what was there to look at the danger that was literally staring him in the face!_

Mulling over the past few moments before the portal sucked him in, Kiran understood that he would be stuck not knowing what had happened to Tarko and Kouta. Sarnaes was gone though and nothing would bring him back.

_I wasn't even able to keep my promise, I failed. What kind of ninja am I? What would my mom think of me…?_

Gritting his teeth, Kiran beat his fist into the ground, trying to release some of the pent up frustration inside of him. His pounding managed to dislodge some of the dirt on the ground, but not much else. Although his hand hurt, he felt a small sense of relief from the outburst. Hoping something had changed, Kiran once again opened his eyes and tried to look around. All around him was pitch black, filling Kiran's heart with despair. He began to cry again, not being able to hold back the deep sobs that escaped his throat. Kiran's head became heavy and he laid down, hoping to find some kind of solace as he curled into a ball. Slowly, he cried himself to sleep, giving his tired body a chance to rest.

The sound of a rock falling woke Kiran with a start. Kiran sat up quickly, only to fall back as a wave of nausea hit him. He lay still for a moment, recovering from the blood that had rushed to his head. When it cleared, he remained silent and listened. Not too far from him, Kiran heard wind blowing, causing some type of vegetation to rustle.

_Are those… trees? Am I not in the desert anymore?_

Kiran rolled over and sat up with unsteady limbs. He leg burned, but he couldn't feel any blood flowing from it anymore. Taking a moment to think, he thought about the last place he had been before, well… here. He had been in a cave underground, so maybe he was still there and that was why it was so dark? If he could hear trees, perhaps the portal had taken him closer to the surface. Determined to get out of here, Kiran began crawling and moved towards the sounds as quickly as he could. He had gotten a few feet closer to the noise when he touched a damp wall that was slick with some kind of moisture. Prodding it with his hands, he tried to feel for any kind of hold or weakness. He was rewarded with a stone that was loose and he pulled on it, hoping for something to happen. Unfortunately, as he pulled the stone, other rocks came with it, spilling forth and falling onto him and the ground below. Kiran put his forearms above his head as they fell, smashing into him from above. He felt a rather large stone impact his left arm, leaving a small gash in it as he fell to his side. Then, the rocks stopped and Kiran lay still, taking in deep breaths. Although he was covered in dirt and mud, the sound was much louder now. Wiping away the dirt from his eyes, he opened them, now seeing a small hole with a bright light directly in front of him.

_Wait… I can see… I must be close to the surface!_

Shocked, he lurched forward and began digging as fast as he could, slowly making the hole bigger and revealing more light. Dirt and mud flew by him and soon he was able to clearly see what was on the other side. Trees, tall and strong, surrounded the hole that he was in. The blue sky shone above and a cool breeze blew past him, chilling his body and causing him to shiver. Looking back behind him, Kiran now saw that he was in some type of cave, which would explain why he couldn't see before. Along with the cave, he noticed that there were charred craters on the wall and floor of the cave. Hope filled his heart and he fell flat on the ground, relief and exhaustion overcoming him. He was cold and in a lot of pain, but he wasn't blind like he had originally feared. A beaming smile was plastered on his face as he ran a hand through his bloodied and dirt covered hair.

He rested there for a minute, basking in relief and trying to think of a plan. He nestled into the dirt, trying to get away from the cool breeze that sucked the heat away from his body. As he was doing this, something warm touched his hand and he recoiled for a moment. Sitting up, he moved the dirt away and found a bright red crystal. Confused, he picked it up and held it in his hand. Warmth emanated from the crystal and before he could react heat shot up his arm and into his body. Some of the aching that he had felt faded away, and the wound on his thigh burned with warmth. Dropping the crystal with a jolt, Kiran looked at his leg. The wound had begun to close and was not as deep as it was before. Kiran glanced down at the crystal which had now lost its red hue and picked it up again. A much smaller feeling of warmth travelled through him before it stopped, the crystal's vibrant color fading into a dull grey.

_What in the world is this? I know you can heal with chakra, but I've never heard of any kind of healing jutsu being stored inside of a crystal before. Maybe they have something to do with the jutsu the apes were using?_

Kiran dug around in the dirt, hoping to find more red crystals. After a few moments, he managed to collect two more and used them to heal his wounds. Feeling a bit refreshed, Kiran tried moulding his chakra again. He found that although he was extremely low, he could at least mold it without hurting himself.

_That's good. I guess I'm not in as bad of a spot as I thought. I'm glad I stumbled onto these things though, I would be in some real trouble without them. I need to focus on figuring out where I am. Before that, I should probably find a source of water. Food would also be a good thing. Shelter would be great. You know what? Being home would be fantastic, if I'm just listing off things that I need. _

Kiran rolled his eyes at himself. That clearly wouldn't be happening anytime soon. With a heave, Kiran lifted himself off of the ground and stood up, frustrated by the weakness that he still felt in his body. His leg still hurt and he would need to be careful not to disturb the wound. Looking at the hole, he reached up to the top of it and pulled himself out, lifting up one leg at a time to go over the edge. He kneeled, standing on top of dirt in the middle of what seemed to be a large forest. His breath caught briefly as he admired the beauty of the trees around him.

_It's been such a long time since I've seen trees… Which means I must be in one of the other major nations. Maybe somewhere north? Even if I am, it shouldn't be this cold in the middle of summer… _

Kiran looked around for the tallest tree that he could find. To his left, a thick tree that had bristles on its branches looked like a good candidate. Mustering his strength, he jumped up, grabbing the first large limb that he could get to. A jolt of pain shot up his leg but he ignored it and repeated the slow process. He used the largest branches he could find to support his weight and eventually made his way above the treeline. What he saw amazed him.

All around him, as far as he could see, was forest. Despite the cold, there was still a lot of green that permeated the land. Behind him, there was some kind of mountain range, along with a massive waterfall that filled the air with a beautiful mist. Wherever he was, it was much more appealing than the land of wind. As he looked over the forest, far off in the distance Kiran spotted multiple trails of smoke.

_Fire._ _There must be a small village nearby. If I can make it there then I can get some help and hopefully head home. Maybe I can be dispatched with Yvaine to go back and take care of the apes that attacked us. If we don't, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause other explorers._

A small pang of guilt rang through his chest. Revenge would also be something he would seek because as far as he knew Tarko, Kouta and Gaius were dead. Making a tight fist, Kiran set on a course of action. He took a quick stock of his equipment, noting that his tanto and weights were gone and he was down to only two kunai. Everything else that he had was either used or left behind. He would have to be careful going forward, as he may have ended up in a country that wasn't too fond of visitors. With a groan, Kiran made his way back down the tree to begin his cold trek towards the smoke in the distance.


End file.
